10 Real Life Historical Figures That Make An Appearance In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is highly accurate when it comes to the historical events included in the game. Even the characters you meet, interact with, or hear about in-game are based on people who actually existed in Bohemia around that time period. If you played the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance when it came out, then you likely expected this high level of historical accuracy. But if you're new to the series and just diving in with the release of the sequel, then you might be surprised at how much attention the developers paid to these details.
Naturally, not every character you encounter is based on somebody who actually existed in history. However, a lot of named characters, particularly the nobles, are linked to figures from the past. Unfortunately, if you were hoping that Henry was a real person in Bohemia's history, he's actually among the few named characters who were created for the sake of the game.
10 Wenceslas Was Once The King Of Bohemia
True to the in-game story, Wenceslas IV was the king of Bohemia in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Just like in the game, he ended up being usurped by his younger brother, Sigismund. He was imprisoned for a time, but once he gave over his reign to Sigismund, the restrictions placed on him while imprisoned were lessened, providing him some freedom.
In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, you're working to try to put Wenceslas back on the throne, which means you're trying to sabotage the forces who support Sigismund and boost the forces who support Wenceslas alongside you. That's the partwhere the fictional elements come into play, since it looks like there wasn't a resistance like the one that you take part in as Henry to try restoring Wenceslas as the king. If there was, then it was too small or too unsuccessful to be recorded in history.
9 Sigismund Took The Throne From His Brother Wenceslas
Sigismund is the boss of the faction who are considered the antagonists of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, because you play as Henry, who's a staunch supporter of Wenceslas. However, the real Sigismund, who took the throne from Wenceslas, is generally seen as a successful ruler. Even the events that were once seen as personal failures are now being considered as the result of a lack of financial or material resources by historians.
When you play either game, you don't get to see a lot of Sigismund or Wenceslas, which isn't surprising because Henry isn't a noble and simply works as an escort and messenger most of the time. However, it's interesting that you're told at least once by a Sigismund supporter that what he's doing as king isn't all bad. With the knowledge of Sigismund being seen as a good ruler in the real world, it makes you wonder about his actions in this fictional world.
8 Jobst Received Support From Wenceslas
A variation of Margrave Jobst is seen in both Kingdom Come: Deliverance games. He does what he can to support the forces who are trying to put Wenceslas back on the throne and remove Sigismund. While the situation in real life was a bit different, the true Jobst likely would've supported Wenceslas if he had the chance, since he was in the middle of a power struggle against Sigismund at the time of his death.
However, Jobst wasn't a steadfast supporter of Wenceslas either, as he had Wenceslas arrested in Prague. Still, he wasn't always an ally to Sigismund either, and they had multiple fallouts. Somehow, Jobst's roles and alliances in the games are easier to understand than in history, but when he won a place as a ruler against Sigismund due to Wenceslas' vote, he died shortly after, and it's possible that his death could've been Sigismund's doing.
7 Radzig Kobyla Was Based On Racek Kobyla
Henry's real father, Radzig, was based on a real person named Racek who supported King Wenceslas. In fact, a fair bit of his portrayal and role in Kingdom Come: Deliverance is quite accurate to his historical inspiration. He was made the Burgrave of Skalice Castle by Wenceslas, which we see in-game as Skalitz, but as far as having an illegitimate son like Henry, there's no evidence of such an event occurring for Racek, meaning that this is where fictional elements pop up again.
Just like Skalitz, Skalice was razed by Sigismund, and only an elderly woman and a pig survived the event. From here, Racek fled the threat of Sigismund and sought refuge with other supporters of Wenceslas. With his home razed, Racek took a role that continued to help Wenceslas by waging war against the Rosenberg Family.
6 Hans' Uncle Hanush Was Based On Hanus Of Lipa
Hanush in-game is a person who's referred to more often than we actually see him, and usually in the context of Hans talking about his uncle and worried that he'll be scolded by him again or be punished in some way for whatever reckless actions he recently performed. It's not surprising that Henry ends up under Hanush's protection after the events of the first game's prologue, since the real Hanus took in Racek and survivors of Skalice being razed, too.
Hanus tended to be in debt and earned himself a reputation as a robber knight. He also ended up being ordered to pass his role to the rightful heir, although Hanush seems more willing to pass his position than history makes Hanus appear to have been. After passing his position to the rightful heir, Hanus was made Supreme Marshal of the Kingdom of Bohemia a few years later, but died shortly after receiving that role.
5 Otto Of Bergau Becomes Otto Von Bergow In-Game
Otto von Bergow is based on Otto III of Bergau, who was indeed part of the League of Lords who were against King Wenceslas. In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Otto acts like he's open to working with Henry and Hans to speak with Wenceslas' supporters. However, it doesn't take long for him to turn on them and launch an attack, leading to significant losses and the capture of Hans and Henry by Jan Zizka, who turns out to be their ally.
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The real Otto was a steadfast supporter of Sigismund throughout his life, helping him claim the throne against Wenceslas. This led to Sigismund rewarding Otto for his loyalty by making him provincial under-chamberlain, where he'd raise taxes to increase the money in the royal treasury. This led to some saying that lords like Otto helped Sigismund commit many evils.
4 Markvart Von Aulitz Is Based On A Real Sigismund Supporter Named Markvart
In real life, his name was Markvart of Ulice, but he was still a staunch supporter of Sigismund. He was the governor of Prague and attacked both Kutna Hora and Suchdol at the command of Wenceslas. Between the in-game version and the real version of Markvart, there are differences, but a lot of his essence comes through in the fictionalized Markvart von Aulitz.
Even the method of death is similar, since the real Markvart was killed by an arrow through his throat. In-game, Henry finds Markvart near the end of the main quest after he's been shot with an arrow and is bleeding out without hope of surviving. Since he doesn't get hit in the throat with the arrow, Henry is able to take revenge for Markvart's role in leading the razing of Skalitz, which is another point where fictional elements come into play.
3 The Real Hynek Was Actually Known As The Dry Devil
You have to find and help a man called the Dry Devil after you get to the point of the main quests that take you to the Kuttenberg Region. The first chunk of these quests involves finding weapons he's hidden in a place he can't fully remember, making you dig up spots before finding the actual items. Then, you get to go around the area to try convincing his old group to get back together to fight against Sigismund's people.
The real Hynek was given the name Dry Devil because of his dry temperament and the manner in which he worked against his enemies, which did include Sigismund. Sigismund and his forces tried to punish Hynek with a siege, but Hynek raided and destroyed enough of their equipment that they ended up needing to lift the siege. However, continuing his raids eventually landed Hynek in prison.
2 Henry's Best Friend Hans Really Existed
Just like his uncle, Hanush, Hans is also based off of a person who once existed in the history of Bohemia. However, his name was actually Jan. After his parents died when he was young, Jan was placed in the care of Henry III of Lipa, and then into the care of Hanus after Henry died. However, there isn't evidence that he participated in the feud between Sigismund and Wenceslas, and he instead assumed control of his birthright in 1412.
If there's a third game to make Kingdom Come: Deliverance into a trilogy, then Hans' historical counterpart gives us the best guess at what could be included. Specifically, Jan was part of the Hussite Wars, which took place after the events between Sigismund and Wenceslas. With how successful the second game has been, selling a million copies on day one, it could be the next move for the developers to carry the story into what happens next in history.
1 Zizka Was A Bohemian Hero
Unlike Zizka in-game, there's no evidence that the real Jan Zizka participated in the conflicts between Sigismund and Wenceslas. Instead, he earned fame for his role in later conflicts, starting with the Hussite Wars. Since the real Zizka was an outlaw during the time period where Sigismund and Wenceslas were in conflict, it makes sense that you meet him as an outlaw and many characters are uncertain if they should trust him, even though they agree that he's a good man in general.
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 shows Zizka as a reliable ally against Sigismund, even if the real world version of him didn't take part in those conflicts. However, the plot to put Wenceslas back on the throne is a work of fiction, so maybe Zizka would've started earning his fame earlier if there had been a faction working to accomplish what the game's characters try to do.
If you love history and video games, then Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a treat, and that includes both games. It's also a great way to start digging into history that you might not have been exposed to in history classes, but you get to start learning about it in a way that makes you want to dig into the truth. The characters don't always follow the same roles as their historical counterparts, but there are a fair number of similarities to their in-game versions in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Set in 15th-century Bohemia, Henry's quest for justice continues amid civil unrest. The open world doubles in size, introducing new weapons, skills, and dynamic branching quests.
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Warhorse Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
- Engine
- CryEngine
- Number of Players
- 1
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
