Another Former Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Developer Has Joined CD Projekt RED to Work on The Witcher 4

CD Projekt RED continues to actively work on The Witcher 4—which is likely their top priority at the moment. The development team is also regularly expanding with new specialists, and the lead technical designer of one of last year’s best RPGs is now working on the project.

We’re talking about Zbyněk Zelinka, a former Warhorse Studios developer who worked on Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. According to his LinkedIn profile, he now works at CD Projekt RED as a senior gameplay designer. Given that previous Warhorse employees who moved to CD Projekt joined the development team for The Witcher 4, there’s no doubt that their colleague has followed the same path.

CD PROJEKT RED has recruited three senior developers from Warhorse Studios in less than a year,

• Karel Kolmann: Former Lead Gameplay Designer, now Senior Quest Designer at CDPR.
• Zdeněk Glatz: Former Lead Level Designer, now Senior Open World Designer.
• Zbyněk Zelinka: Former Lead Technical Designer, now Senior Gameplay Designer.

All three held leadership positions at Warhorse before moving to CDPR.

CD Projekt previously confirmed that more than 500 people are working on The Witcher 4, and it’s great to see that, much like in football, they’re strengthening their team with top-notch specialists. Not to mention that Karolina Stachyra, the senior writer of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt—who also served as narrative designer for the Hearts of Stone expansion— has returned to the studio. However, The Witcher 4 is still in the early stages of development and won’t be released until at least 2028.

As for Warhorse and Kingdom Come specifically, the studio is working on a franchise spin-off, as well as an RPG set in Middle-earth. Neither project has a release date yet, but an insider recently shared some interesting details.