If you have Game Pass, mark March 3 on your calendar. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 hits Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass that day — and it’s genuinely one of the best reasons to hold onto a subscription you might have been thinking about canceling. A 54-hour medieval RPG that scored 87/100 on Metacritic and normally costs $69.99 on Xbox. Included.
Here’s what you actually need to know before you load it up.
What You’re Getting
KCD2 is a direct sequel to Warhorse Studios’ 2018 RPG about surviving medieval Bohemia as a regular person. No magic, no dragons, no chosen-one backstory. You’re Henry of Skalitz — a blacksmith’s son tangled up in a 15th-century civil war, trying to find out who killed his parents and stay alive while doing it.
The sequel launched February 4, 2025 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The reception was strong: 87/100 on Metacritic across 45 PC reviews, 89/100 on Xbox. Polygon put it among last year’s GOTY contenders. It’s been out for about a year and it’s hitting Game Pass on March 3, 2026 for Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass subscribers.
The price context: $59.99 standard on PC, $69.99 on Xbox. Both are currently on sale (~50% off), but even the sale price is more than a month of Game Pass.
What Critics Said (And Why It Matters)
The 87/100 on Metacritic is meaningful because of what specifically reviewers praised. This wasn’t a case of critics being generous to an ambitious-but-flawed game. The common thread across reviews was that KCD2 did something rare: it built on the first game without abandoning what made it unusual in the first place.
Metacritic highlighted one critic writing: “It’s obvious a lot of love has been poured into every facet of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. If you found combat in the first game too difficult or the survival mechanics tedious, then the sequel’s streamlined gameplay might not be enough to change your mind.” That’s an honest framing — the sequel refines without reinventing. If the core design wasn’t for you before, it’s still not a conventional RPG.
The user score side is interesting too. Player response was enthusiastic — players with 100+ hours were showing up in forums saying things like “this is a model for how RPGs should be made.” The gap between critic and user sentiment that plagues some games (extreme in either direction) was fairly aligned here.
How Long Is It?
HowLongToBeat puts the main story at 54.5 hours, averaged across hundreds of submissions. That’s the floor. The r/kingdomcome community in early 2025 had players casually mentioning 70+ hours in Act 2. A lot of that is side content that’s genuinely worth doing, not filler.
For comparison: most $70 games run 20-30 hours. You’re getting two to three times that here.
How Does It Compare to KCD1?
If KCD1’s combat drove you away, the sequel is noticeably more accessible. If you loved KCD1’s depth, the changes might feel like a step down in one specific area.
Combat Is Smoother (With One Big Trade-Off)
The first game’s combat was notorious. The stamina system, master strikes, and aggressive enemy AI meant Henry died constantly in the opening hours. KCD2 loosens this considerably — enemies are less relentless early on, giving you space to learn.
The big change is the master strike: in KCD1 it worked with any weapon and became a crutch that made the game trivially easy once you figured it out. In KCD2, master strikes only work with swords. If you’re swinging an axe or mace, you don’t get that instant-win counter. The r/kingdomcome breakdown from November 2025: “KCD1 was more punishing if you fuck up but it was easier to master. KCD2 combat is smoother but master strikes only work with swords.”
Consensus on Reddit leans toward KCD2 being more accessible overall, with a faction of veterans preferring KCD1’s harder edges. Both views are fair.
More World, More Skills
The sequel adds weapon forging — you can actually smith your own blades rather than just buying or looting them. Speech, unarmed combat, and drinking skills have more impactful moments this time. The world is larger, spanning the medieval trade city of Kuttenberg alongside countryside roughly matching KCD1 in scale. The story now includes over five hours of cinematics (compared to about two in the original), and Henry’s arc picks up directly where KCD1 left off.
Do You Need to Play KCD1 First?
KCD2 gives you enough context to follow the story without the first game. But KCD1 is also on Game Pass right now, and playing it first makes the sequel hit harder — you’ll know the characters, you’ll understand what Henry’s been through, and you’ll start KCD2 with combat fundamentals already in your muscle memory. If you have the time, play both in order. If you don’t, KCD2 works as a standalone.
Who This Is For (And Who It Isn’t)
This is your game if you want an RPG that takes the “role-playing” part seriously. Henry’s reputation affects NPC dialogue. His clothing affects how people treat him. His stats reflect what he’s actually practiced, not what you’ve unlocked from a skill tree. If historical fiction in a genuinely researched setting sounds interesting — 15th-century Bohemia, a real civil war, actual historical figures like Sigismund of Hungary behaving roughly as they did in real life — this is the best version of that game that exists.
It’s also for you if you have 50+ hours and want to actually get lost somewhere. This isn’t a weekend game.
It’s not your game if you want fast-paced action. Even with the accessibility improvements, KCD2 is slower and more deliberate than something like Ghost of Tsushima or Elden Ring — combat requires thought, not reflexes. It’s also not for you if survival mechanics are a dealbreaker: Henry needs to eat, sleep, bathe, and manage his appearance. And if you’re on the cheaper Game Pass Standard tier, note that KCD2 is not included — you need Ultimate, Premium, or PC Game Pass.
The Rough Edges Worth Knowing About
The first 4-6 hours are slow. Heavy on story setup and tutorials. This is intentional — you’re a kid from a village, not an action hero — but if you’re used to games that drop you into combat immediately, the opening will test your patience. The pacing opens up substantially once you leave the starting area.
The save system is still here. You save by sleeping in a bed or drinking Saviour Schnapps (craftable or buyable from traders). Some players love the tension this creates. Others have rage-quit after losing 40 minutes to an ambush. PC players can install save mods if this is a hard dealbreaker.
Some jank remains. NPC pathfinding occasionally goes wrong, horses still clip through geometry now and then, and the physics engine produces some unintentionally funny moments. Nothing game-breaking, but it’s Warhorse’s signature — lovable if you’re on board, irritating if you aren’t.
Is It Worth Paying for Game Pass Just for This?
Honest answer: if you have Game Pass, this is an easy yes. If you’ve let your subscription lapse, KCD2 plus The Witcher 3: Complete Edition (which just joined Game Pass on February 19) makes this the strongest two-week stretch for the service in a while.
Game Pass Ultimate is $19.99/month. KCD2 at full Xbox price is $69.99. Even with the current 50% sale at $34.99, a month of Game Pass costs less than the game alone.
If you’d rather own it: the physical Xbox copy is sitting at $24.99 — a record low according to Deku Deals, and a strong buy at that price for a 54-hour game. On PC, Steam keys are around $29-30 through key resellers right now.
One practical note: KCD2’s combat relies on precise analog stick input for directional attacks. If you’re playing on Xbox and using a worn-out controller with drift or a cheap third-party pad, it’ll make the combat feel sloppier than it is. A fresh Xbox Series X controller is worth it for a game you’re going to put 50+ hours into.
We’ve also covered a few other recent Game Pass additions worth your time: High on Life 2 if you want something completely different (a chaotic comedy FPS), and Diablo II: Resurrected which hit Game Pass as a shadow drop earlier this month.
The Verdict
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a 54-hour medieval RPG that scored 89 on Xbox Metacritic and normally costs $70. On March 3, it joins Game Pass. The early game asks for patience and the save system will frustrate someone in your house at least once. But for an RPG that actually makes you feel like you’re living in 1403 Bohemia rather than visiting it — this is the one. It’s not for everyone, and that’s fine. For the people it is for, it’s one of the best games of the last two years.
Claim it March 3. You’ll know within the first evening whether it’s your thing.
