Warhorse Studios walked into their own Reddit ambush yesterday. The April 30 AMA on r/gaming, meant to hype Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, devolved into a barrage of questions about AI replacing human translators. The top-voted post, with 919 upvotes, sniped: "Is your Gemini premium subscription gonna translate your next game since you fired the guy that did the English translation?" Creative Director Prokop Jirsa and team faced a comment section where the first 10 highest-scoring queries circled the same accusation.

It traces back to March 27, when Max Hejtmánek, Warhorse's English editor and voiceover director since 2022, posted on r/kingdomcome that he was abruptly fired. "My position at the company would become 'obsolete' in favour of using AI for all translations going forward," he wrote, citing cost savings and efficiency. The studio's initial response to inquiries was a boilerplate nod to privacy, avoiding specifics on his case.

Devs pushed back in the AMA with an official statement: "We do not see AI as a substitute for human work... Some team members find AI useful during early stages of production. However, we do not use AI-generated content in the final game." Jirsa added they're "hiring new translators. Yes, actual humans. Plural." Yet the timing invites skepticism—promises of expansion after a public layoff feel like damage control.

Reddit's rage underscores a broader industry fracture. Players demand transparency on AI creep, and Warhorse's thread became exhibit A: a PR event hijacked by receipts from a jilted ex-employee. Studios may hire tomorrow, but trust erodes today.