KCD2 translator replaced by AI, sparks backlash

The English translator for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Max Hejtmánek, has reportedly been laid off from Warhorse Studios and replaced by AI.

Recently, KCD2 English translator Max Hejtmánek spoke out on the game’s subreddit, telling fans that he was laid off from Warhorse Studios and replaced by AI. According to him, management said that “his job can be done by AI in the future.”

People reached out to Max Hejtmánek directly to confirm whether it was really him behind the post, and he confirmed that it was.

“I primarily worked on KCD2 and its DLCs, including dialogues, quest logs, item names, and various other things,” Hejtmánek wrote in the Reddit post. “Simply put, if you've ever played KCD2 in English, you've quite likely seen my work.”

“On March 27, with no forewarning, I was invited to a meeting and promptly told that, in an effort to ‘make the company more effective’ and ‘save finances,’ as of next month, my position at the company would become ‘obsolete’ in favour of using AI for all translations going forward.”

Hejtmánek also said that he had always been openly against AI as a translating tool at Warhorse, but never to the point where he thought he could actually lose his job because of it, since he believed his work was still very valuable. He said he feels betrayed by management. He also stated that he will not try to get his job back, but he will not stay silent about his experience at Warhorse either. In a follow-up edit, he thanked fans for their support and asked them not to harass anyone from Warhorse or review-bomb their games on Steam, as that was not his intention.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a 2025 action role-playing game developed by Warhorse Studios and published by Deep Silver. The sequel to Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018), the game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on February 4, 2025. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics and sold two million copies within two weeks of release.