Overview
Kingmakers is set in 1400 AD during one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the British Isles. The game takes the real historical event of the Welsh Rebellion led by Owain Glyndwr and layers a science fiction time travel plot on top of it. The result is a setting where assault rifles and attack helicopters exist alongside longbows and trebuchets, and where the player's actions on a medieval battlefield have direct consequences for the future of civilization.
The Original Timeline
According to the game's lore, the historical events that occurred in our world are not what was supposed to happen. In the original, unaltered timeline, Owain Glyndwr's rebellion against English rule succeeded. Wales broke free from English domination, and under Glyndwr's unified leadership, Britain entered a new era of cooperation and progress. This unified Britain went on to develop technological and military superiority far beyond what our own history produced. The specifics of how this alternate history unfolded are part of the game's narrative, but the key point is that the original timeline was better for humanity as a whole.
The Altered Timeline
At some point, a malevolent force intervened and changed the outcome of the Welsh Rebellion. Instead of succeeding, Glyndwr's uprising was crushed. Wales remained under English control, Britain followed a different historical path, and the technological and social advantages of the original timeline were lost. The present day (from which the player's task force originates) exists in this altered, weakened timeline. Something, or someone, deliberately engineered this change, and the present-day world is vulnerable as a result.
The game does not spell out every detail of who or what changed history at the beginning. The nature of the malevolent force is part of the mystery that unfolds over the course of the campaign. What the player knows at the start is straightforward: history went wrong, the world is worse for it, and someone needs to go back and fix things.
The Mission
The player is part of an elite task force sent 500 years into the past to the year 1400 AD. Their mission is to restore the original timeline by ensuring that the Welsh Rebellion succeeds as it was supposed to. This is not a subtle infiltration. The task force arrives with modern military equipment, vehicles, and weapons that are centuries more advanced than anything in the medieval world. The approach is direct: use overwhelming technological superiority to tip the scales of a medieval war.
However, the mission is more complicated than simply shooting everyone who opposes Glyndwr. The player must build alliances, manage kingdoms, command armies, and make political decisions that affect which factions support them and which oppose them. The time travel premise provides the reason for the player's presence and their equipment; the medieval setting provides the political and military framework in which the mission plays out.
Historical Figures
Kingmakers features several real historical figures from the period, reinterpreted within the game's alternate history framework.
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr (also spelled Owain Glendower in English sources) was a real Welsh nobleman who led a major uprising against English rule beginning in 1400 AD. He is considered the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales. In real history, his rebellion ultimately failed, though he was never captured and his fate remains unknown. In Kingmakers, Glyndwr is a central figure whose success is the key to restoring the original timeline. The player works alongside him, using modern technology to give his medieval forces the edge they need.
Henry IV
Henry IV was the King of England during Glyndwr's rebellion. He usurped the throne from Richard II and spent much of his reign dealing with rebellions and challenges to his authority, including Glyndwr's Welsh uprising. In Kingmakers, Henry IV serves as one of the primary antagonists. His forces represent the English crown's determination to keep Wales under control, and defeating or outmaneuvering him is a central part of the campaign.
Henry V
Henry V, the son of Henry IV, also appears in the game. In real history, Henry V is best known for his victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In Kingmakers, he is another antagonist aligned against the player's mission to restore the Welsh timeline. His role in the game's narrative connects the immediate conflict of 1400 AD to the broader question of what happens to England's military ambitions if Wales is freed.
Faction Choices
The player is not locked into a single allegiance. Kingmakers allows the player to choose to fight for England, Scotland, or Wales. This choice affects the political alliances available, the enemies the player faces, and ultimately the direction the story takes. Fighting for Wales aligns most closely with the original mission of restoring Glyndwr's timeline. Fighting for England or Scotland creates alternative narrative paths with different alliances, different battles, and different implications for the game's conclusion.
The faction system adds replayability and ensures that the player's experience is not identical on subsequent playthroughs. Each faction has its own political dynamics, its own geographic strongholds, and its own relationships with the other two factions. The choice is not purely narrative; it affects which territories are friendly, which resources are accessible, and which military forces are available as allies.
Multiple Endings
Kingmakers features multiple endings determined by the player's choices throughout the campaign. The faction choice is the most obvious branching point, but other decisions, such as how prisoners are handled (ransom, torture, or execution), which alliances are formed, and which battles are fought or avoided, all contribute to the final outcome. The specifics of the endings have not been fully revealed prior to launch, but the developers have confirmed that the game does not have a single canonical conclusion.
Tone and Atmosphere
Despite the serious subject matter, Kingmakers does not take itself entirely seriously. The developers have cited the 1992 film Army of Darkness as a tonal influence, and the absurdist humor of bringing a tank to a sword fight is very much intentional. The game walks a line between genuine strategic depth and gleeful chaos, and the setting is designed to support both. Quiet moments of kingdom management and political negotiation sit alongside sequences where the player calls in an Apache helicopter to strafe a column of knights. The contrast is the point.