While Developing Its Lord of the Rings RPG: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Studio Warhorse Hit by a Cyberattack Accessing Corporate Data
Czech developer Warhorse Studios, best known for the acclaimed medieval RPG series Kingdom Come: Deliverance and currently developing an open-world role-playing game set in The Lord of the Rings universe, has confirmed that it was targeted in a serious cyberattack. In an official statement issued from Prague, the company disclosed that intruders gained unauthorized entry into its internal network and accessed corporate data.
Unauthorized Access to Internal Systems and Company Data Confirmed
In its official announcement, Warhorse Studios confirmed that the security breach compromised both internal company systems and corporate files. To contain the intrusion and trace how the attackers bypassed network defenses, the developer immediately brought in external cybersecurity specialists and notified the relevant law enforcement authorities.
Studio CEO Martin Frývaldský addressed the situation directly, describing the breach as a serious incident for Warhorse Studios and everyone affected. He emphasized that the management team's immediate priority is locking down internal infrastructure, establishing the full scope of the breach, and taking every necessary step to protect employees, business partners, and the player community. While the forensic investigation is underway, the studio noted that it will refrain from conducting individual interviews and will share further findings as soon as it can responsibly do so.
- Scope of the breach: unauthorized access to Warhorse Studios' internal corporate systems and company data.
- Immediate response: deployment of third-party cybersecurity experts alongside active coordination with legal authorities.
- Communication policy: no further press interviews during the active investigation until the full impact is verified.
What Is at Stake for the Middle-earth RPG and Future Kingdom Come Projects?
The cyberattack strikes at a pivotal moment in the studio's growth. Following the major critical and commercial success of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, where dedicated PC players have even built an ambitious multiplayer mod bringing medieval roleplay servers to Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Warhorse Studios has become a flagship pillar of Fellowship Entertainment. Formed during Embracer Group's corporate restructuring to house Middle-earth Enterprises and top-tier development teams, Fellowship Entertainment recently backed Warhorse to build a large-scale open-world RPG set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth alongside a new project in the Kingdom Come franchise.
At this stage, Warhorse has not specified whether employee records, source code, or early pre-production materials for its upcoming games were exfiltrated during the intrusion. While studio leadership recently made headlines discussing AAA industry economics and why Kingdom Come 2's creative lead weighed in on the $80 game price debate, the entire Prague team is now focused on fortifying its internal development pipeline against potential leaks.
My Take
First Insomniac Games, then Game Freak, and now Warhorse Studios gets targeted by data extortionists right as the team ramps up work on its Lord of the Rings RPG. Ransomware crews know that an independent studio riding the high of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is prime bait for blackmail threats over early internal builds.
Daniel Vávra and Martin Frývaldský made the right call by getting ahead of the story immediately, and here's hoping the Prague team's personal employee records stay out of the hands of dark-web brokers.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles 'Grimtag' Ronchain is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
