Is RKW a re-branded Medieval Kingdom Wars?

[Dev Konstantin]

Hey Everyone,

It’s been a challenging year, and I thought, why not end it on a lighter note?

[start attempt at humor]

I’ve noticed a recurring theme in some of the feedback over the past few months. So, I figured let’s address it head on - maybe have a discussion.

Let’s keep things lighthearted though—maybe share your experiences transitioning from MKW to RKW?

Busted?

Some players have mentioned that RKW is just Medieval Kingdom Wars with a new name and logo. And they might have a point—even I sometimes have a hard time seeing the difference.

But in the spirit of New Year’s, let’s look back, compare, and try to see if we can tell the two apart.

Lest Not We Forget

My theory is that these comparisons stem from the fact that we all play so many games these days, and over time, it’s easy to forget what MKW was really like. And lets be honest - it was quite forgettable.

So - let’s explore together and see how things stack up.

To kick things off, here are a couple of side-by-side screenshots showing Medieval Kingdom Wars and Renaissance Kingdom Wars in the same locations on the world map and hamlets.

Let’s take a look and see what differences stand out (if any).

World Map - France

Okay, you got me—it’s almost exactly the same. I can barely spot four differences between these MKW and RKW screenshots myself—showing the same location in the south of France.

MKW

https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/44774655/052438bcd22afaa7f4dd036aabbf73691e238336.jpg

RKW

https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/44774655/a9d769df7fac9bd4ad278c2163d46f8a2ebc81bc.png

***Here I was trying to show off—but just realized the Silver Icon looks exactly the same :(

World Map - South of Spain

Let’s take this up a notch—there are at least seven differences between these pictures. *Hint: there’s an extra naval army in the center!*

MKW

https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/44774655/947cbf974a7684a4b80a485259d8237372759a0e.png

RKW

https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/44774655/7c4c2d00f703d6aeca54322056570113bfa23dd7.png

RTS Mode - Hamlet of Almeria in Spain

At least I finally figured out what the "Bloom Level" setting is for—baby steps.

MKW

https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/44774655/9de43f9ccac6e98be9a2d57d70bf773bd8d974e8.png

RKW

https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/44774655/c7ad2ca1da2b762b19e279210b3a45cf40d6fda9.png

Re-branded Bang for Your Buck

Fun fact—did you know that if you buy a totally original grand strategy game without 1,2,3 to the name or X DLCs... let’s say - Crusader Kings —you’ve already spent way more than all Kingdom Wars games from the past 12 years combined?

Just thinking out loud here—I really need to get better at this. Hmm... maybe a blood DLC? Then I can finally get 498 other developers working with me and put out flawless content like Creative Assembly, made 'by players for players'

Too soon?

Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year

Anyway—hope that helped clear the air, and maybe someone had a small laugh at my attempt at humor.

I’ll try to add more to this post in the coming days. For now, I just want to wish everyone reading this all the very best in the coming 2025.



P.S. I’m happy to announce there are at least four new Kingdom Wars games coming in 2025 and 16 new DLCs—it’s going to be a good year [evil laugh]

[redsimonDE]

Hehe, that's why I stopped buying anything from CA or Paradox three years ago.

I'm definitely satisfied with Renaissance Kingdom Wars, especially as there are way too little games set in the Renaissance.

[the evil one]

The screenshots look almost identical to Dawn of fantasy to me
Is this just a reskin/remake of that ?

[Dev Konstantin]

Originally posted by the evil one:

The screenshots look almost identical to Dawn of fantasy to me
Is this just a reskin/remake of that ?

Haha - I`ll aim to make a new comparison post with each game.