Kingdom Come: Deliverance II crossed 6 million sales and the 60% Steam discount has pulled another wave of historical-RPG fans into Henry’s saga. After 80 hours of medieval Bohemia, half the player base hits the same wall: what’s next that scratches the same itch? These are seven Kingdom Come: Deliverance II alternatives for desktop in 2026 we tested, from grounded combat sims to grand-strategy detours.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Platforms | Price | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord | Sandbox medieval combat | Windows, macOS, Linux | $49.99 | Faction warfare and sieges |
| Skyrim Special Edition | Open-world fantasy RPG | Windows, macOS | $19.99 | Modding ceiling |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Story-driven medieval RPG | Windows, macOS | $19.99 | Quest writing and atmosphere |
| Pentiment | Bavarian narrative mystery | Windows, macOS, Linux | $19.99 | Hand-drawn medieval storytelling |
| Crusader Kings III | Dynasty grand strategy | Windows, macOS, Linux | $49.99 | Medieval politics from above |
| Hellish Quart | Pure sword duelling | Windows | $19.99 | Physics-based fencing |
| Manor Lords | Medieval city builder | Windows | $39.99 | Plot-by-plot town planning |
Why Kingdom Come fans need an alternative
The threads on r/kingdomcome and the Steam forums share a few common reasons:
- The Henry storyline ends. Mods extend the world but the canonical arc concludes.
- The combat system is unique, but stamina-based duels can grind once you’ve mastered them.
- Bohemia is one region. Players hungry for new geography don’t get it from this engine.
- Crime, theft, and economy are deep but limited to medieval-Czech systems.
- The pacing is deliberately slow. Some players need a faster-loop alternative for shorter sessions.
The picks below address each of those gaps without pretending another game can be a literal swap.
The 7 best Kingdom Come: Deliverance II alternatives on desktop
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, sandbox medieval combat
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is the obvious sandbox successor. Faction politics, mounted combat, sieges, and the kind of personal-warband progression that Henry’s hand-crafted story doesn’t try for. Mods extend the medieval setting into Westeros, the Crusades, and warring Britain.
Where it falls short: The base campaign is thinner narratively than KCD. Bug surface remains larger than a Warhorse production. Combat is fun but less granular than KCD’s fencing.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $49.99, frequent 40-50% sales
- vs KCD2: bigger map, less story, similar period flavour
Switching from KCD2: Skip the tutorial. Roll a low-tier mercenary and find a faction. Don’t ride alone.
Download: Bannerlord on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Bannerlord when you want medieval politics and tactics rather than a single hero’s arc.
Skyrim Special Edition, open-world fantasy RPG
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is the alternative most KCD players already own. The modded Skyrim community has built dozens of conversions that pull Skyrim closer to KCD’s grounded feel: Sons of Skyrim, Wildcat, Survival Mode, and the Open Civil War overhaul are common picks.
Where it falls short: Out of the box, combat is shallower than KCD. The 2011 design language is visible everywhere. Without mods, the immersion gap is real.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $19.99, often $4.99 in sales
- vs KCD2: bigger map, looser combat, decades of mod content
Switching from KCD2: Install Wabbajack or a curated list. Lower the combat damage multiplier. Live in The Reach for KCD-like geography.
Download: Skyrim Special Edition on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Skyrim when you want a longer adventure and you’re happy to build the experience with mods.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, story-driven medieval RPG
The Witcher 3 is the gold standard for open-world quest writing. The combat is the weakest layer of any pick on this list, but the side stories carry the experience. Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are still two of the strongest RPG expansions ever shipped.
Where it falls short: Combat by 2026 standards is dated. The map is large but old enough that the structure shows.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: Complete Edition $19.99 on Steam
- vs KCD2: better written quests, weaker combat
Switching from KCD2: Start a fresh save on Death March difficulty. Skip the prologue if you’ve played it before.
Download: The Witcher 3 on Steam
Bottom line: Pick The Witcher 3 when the story matters and the combat is the part you tolerate.
Pentiment, Bavarian narrative mystery
Pentiment is Obsidian’s hand-drawn medieval murder mystery. Set in 16th-century Bavaria, it covers the same Holy Roman Empire space KCD lives in but as a narrative game. Every conversation choice ripples decades forward.
Where it falls short: No combat, no exploration in the open-world sense. The art style divides opinion. Three-act pacing demands you finish in order.
Pricing:
- Free: no, but on Game Pass for PC
- Paid: $19.99
- vs KCD2: tiny in scope, enormous in writing density
Switching from KCD2: Treat it as a long visual novel. Take notes. Talk to everyone.
Download: Pentiment on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Pentiment when you want medieval history as story rather than systems.
Crusader Kings III, dynasty grand strategy
Crusader Kings III is the same medieval Europe seen from 30,000 feet. Plot, scheme, marry, betray. The character-driven dynastic chaos is the closest grand-strategy answer to the personal stakes of a KCD playthrough.
Where it falls short: No action combat. The learning curve is genuinely steep. Paradox DLC strategy keeps the full experience moving up the price ladder.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $49.99 base, expansion packs $30+
- vs KCD2: opposite zoom level, same era
Switching from KCD2: Start as a count in Bohemia. Stay there. Make your dynasty the local power before you reach for kingdoms.
Download: Crusader Kings III on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Crusader Kings III when you want medieval politics with no swords.
Hellish Quart, pure sword duelling
Hellish Quart is a physics-based 17th-century sword-fighting game. Pure duels, no story, no exploration. The fencing simulation is the closest one-to-one match for KCD’s combat philosophy, with the added crunch of full ragdoll physics on every swing.
Where it falls short: Tiny in scope. No exploration. Best in short bursts.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $19.99
- vs KCD2: just the duelling, none of the world
Switching from KCD2: Practise with the Hussar. Disable AI assistance. Lose a lot.
Download: Hellish Quart on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Hellish Quart when the combat was your favourite part of KCD and you want it concentrated.
Manor Lords, medieval city builder
Manor Lords is the medieval city builder that exited early access into a stable 1.0 in 2025. Plot-by-plot town planning, seasonal farming, and a battle layer that uses Total War-style formations. The setting overlaps KCD’s geography closely.
Where it falls short: Solo-developer project, so feature pace is steady but slow. Battle layer is the weakest piece. Late-game content is still being filled in.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $39.99
- vs KCD2: city builder rather than RPG, same era
Switching from KCD2: Pick the smallest map. Build one village before you try to build a region.
Download: Manor Lords on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Manor Lords when KCD’s village life was the part you wanted to live inside and run.
How to choose
If you want medieval combat at scale with politics, Bannerlord is the closest sandbox sibling.
If you want a longer first-person open-world RPG and you’ll mod it, Skyrim Special Edition is the cheapest entry point.
If you want a better-written quest layer with a smaller combat tax, The Witcher 3 is still the right answer.
If you want a Bohemian story without swords, Pentiment is the most overlooked pick on this list.
If you want the duelling concentrated, Hellish Quart delivers it in pure form.
Stay on KCD2 if you haven’t finished the post-launch DLC chapters or you’re still building your settlement in From the Ashes II. Warhorse keeps shipping content and the Bohemian patch cadence is one of the best in the category.
