Inside Kingmakers - 2024’s Biggest Gaming Surprise So Far

With an incredible trailer that came out of nowhere, marrying RTS elements with third-person modern vs medieval combat, Kingmakers has gone on to become one of the most eagerly anticipated games of 2024... and Digital Foundry has an exclusive interview with the developers. What tech is Kingmakers using? How does it work? How many enemies will you do battle with and what’s the level of AI in play? Find out here as John Linneman discusses the game with developer Redemption Road. Subscribe for more Digital Foundry: Join the DF Patreon to support the team more directly and to get access to everything we do via pristine quality downloads: Want some DF-branded tee-shirts, mugs, hoodies and more? Check out our store: For commercial enquiries, please contact business@ 00:00 - Introduction 00:43 - Background Information 02:07 - Which Engine is Used? 05:30 - The Crowd System 08:34 - Crowds with Real AI?! 11:40 - How Does it Flow? 13:28 - How Does the Game Actually Work? 16:31 - Destructible Objects 18:23 - It’s Designed for 60 fps 19:37 - Runs on Steam Deck 21:38 - Campaign Structure 24:34 - Foliage System 28:12 - Network Code for COOP 29:56 - Lighting Discussion 31:39 - War Era - What Kingmakers looked like early in development 32:59 - Ending