PC Gamer's Chris Livingston uncovered a bizarre bug in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 where NPCs randomly steal the player's shoes during gameplay. The exploit became so widespread that Livingston's coverage of the glitch essentially turned it into a known community issue.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Warhorse Studios' medieval RPG sequel, launched on PC and consoles with the typical launch day quirks. But this particular bug stands out for its absurdity. NPCs in the game don't respect footwear. They'll simply walk up and yank your shoes right off your character's feet, leaving you barefoot in 13th century Bohemia.
Livingston's investigation and documentation of the bug created an unintended domino effect. Once PC Gamer published the findings, the shoe-stealing glitch spread through the player base like wildfire. What might have remained an isolated oddity became a known exploit that players actively looked for or encountered simply because they knew it was possible.
The incident highlights how gaming journalism shapes player behavior and awareness in real-time. A single article about a specific glitch can transform it from a rare bug into a reproducible problem that dozens of streamers and content creators will investigate, test, and demonstrate. The visibility accelerates the bug's prevalence across the community.
Warhorse Studios has not officially commented on whether they'll patch the shoe-stealing mechanic, though such obviously unintended behavior typically gets fixed in post-launch patches. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 launched November 2024 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S to strong sales, despite the occasional barefoot wanderer.
The shoe incident serves as a reminder that game developers exist in a symbiotic relationship with gaming press and content creators. Coverage drives awareness, awareness drives reproduction, and reproduction drives