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Warhorse Studios co-founder Daniel Vávra criticized Unreal Engine’s suitability for the open-world game he was discussing, pointing to terrain, vegetation and performance concerns. The remarks came from an interview conducted around February 2024 and were reported in February 2025, so they are a historical assessment—not a current verdict on Unreal Engine 5 or proof that the engine cannot make open-world games.
What Daniel Vávra said about Unreal Engine
In remarks reproduced by Windows Central, Vávra said that when Warhorse chose CryEngine, “nothing else could handle it like this.” He also said Unreal could not run the game at the time of his interview, and argued that few open-world games then used Unreal, with major series such as Assassin’s Creed relying on their own engines.
Those statements describe Vávra’s view at the time, not a controlled comparison of engines. The underlying interview transcript was not independently reviewed in the reporting, and engine capabilities and versions change.
Terrain and vegetation
Vávra’s specific concern was how Unreal handled natural environments. Windows Central quoted him saying: “If you wanted to make a game on Unreal from some rocks, that’s great, but it couldn’t do trees for a long time.” He went on to say that Nanite could not generate vegetation “until now,” reflecting his assessment when the interview took place. That historical comment should not be read as a description of every later Unreal Engine version or its current feature set.
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Performance claims need context
GamePro also reported Vávra’s claim that even an €8,000 computer would struggle with a dense scene containing more than a few people. This was an attributed remark, not a benchmark: the coverage supplies no test methodology or independently verified performance result. It is not evidence about current hardware or a general measure of Unreal Engine 5 performance.
What the Witcher 4 anecdote does—and does not—show
Vávra’s comments about CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher 4 relied on a conversation with an unnamed contact, as reported by Windows Central and GamePro. According to the account, the contact said some elements, such as landscapes, were done, but answered “Not yet” when asked about the open world.
The exchange is secondhand and does not independently establish CD Projekt RED’s internal development status. It also does not show that Unreal Engine caused a delay or that the studio could not build an open world with it.
Why Warhorse retained CryEngine for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Warhorse’s own explanation centers on what the studio had already built around CryEngine, rather than a claim that the engine is universally superior. In a 2024 interview, executive producer Martin Klíma said the studio had customized the technology for its needs and invested effort in improving performance. He described Warhorse’s engine as close to Crytek’s current version while retaining those customizations. The interview also discussed software ray tracing and an improved version of SVOGI as planned technology for the game at that pre-release point.
In a later interview with GOG, Warhorse said familiarity with CryEngine let the team build on its accumulated experience and that it had made significant improvements to suit its needs. The studio described the engine as a powerful tool for the detailed, immersive environments central to Kingdom Come.
These reasons point to a studio-specific tradeoff: existing tools and staff knowledge, the cost of changing pipelines, performance work, and the demands of the game’s world all matter when selecting an engine. They do not establish that CryEngine is generally faster than Unreal Engine or that Unreal is generally unsuitable for open-world development.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Unreal Engine 5 suitable for open-world games?
Vávra’s comments are useful as a developer’s account of the challenges Warhorse faced and of how terrain, vegetation, and performance shaped its own engine choice. They are not a yes-or-no answer for every studio or project. The reporting offers no like-for-like benchmark between CryEngine and Unreal Engine 5, and the remarks date from around February 2024. A meaningful comparison depends on the specific engine version, the team’s experience and custom tools, optimization work, and the world the game is designed to create.
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