New Warhorse trademarks may reference online, but that doesn't mean the new Kingdom Come game is multiplayer

It may have excited, it may have concerned, but either way, seeing the potential for Kingdom Come: Deliverance developer Warhorse Studios to be working on a multiplayer game would certainly be something new for the studio. After crafting two incredibly deep and rich single-player experiences, perhaps it is time to branch out.

PC Gamer caught wind of a new trademark filed by Warhorse, in both the EU and the US. The sections of the trademark bringing about all this multiplayer speculation refer to the IC 041 filing, which in the EU refers to "online interactive entertainment" and "electronic games services provided by means of a global communication network." The US filing is similarly worded, referencing "online computer games featuring virtual environments in which users can interact for entertainment purposes."

While this all might sound like it's pointing directly to the next Kingdom Come game being a multiplayer title, video game IP lawyer Kirk Sigmon says that Warhorse is just covering its bases. "As part of our usual cautiousness, IP attorneys generally try to make sure that we file trademarks in enough classes to cover a broad spectrum of how the mark might be used by the company, as well as in view of the fact that certain terms can be read broadly. In turn, you can find plenty of examples of non-multiplayer games registered in IC 041," he said, referencing Clair Obsur: Expedition 33 as a game that featured an IC 041 classification without offering any multiplayer elements.

"One of the biggest reasons IP attorneys might register a singleplayer game that way (e.g., referencing a game being 'online') is that the term 'online video game' could be interpreted pretty broadly - for example, I might need to argue sometime in the future that distribution of a game via Steam and/or a game with downloadable DLC is, in some sense, 'online.' Also, you never know if a game might go fully multiplayer in the future, so it helps to have that breadth. Along those lines, I've personally helped register trademarks in IC 041 for games that didn't have traditional multiplayer components," Sigmon added.

So, perhaps don't expect Warhorse to jump into the world of multiplayer for its next Kingdom Come game. Then again, could it be interesting to see a co-op RPG set in medieval Bohemia?