Josh Sawyer says there’s “a lot of people” at Obsidian who want to make a Pillars of Eternity Tactics game after Avowed, but the “fanbase is not humungous”

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Originally a crowdfunded project reminiscent of classic RPGs, it has blossomed into a cherished series encompassing two critically-acclaimed Pillars of Eternity games, several expansions, and the newly launched first-person spinoff Avowed. Now, certain developers at Obsidian Entertainment express interest in expanding the franchise further, specifically with a strategy game.

In a recent livestream, director Josh Sawyer of Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and Pentiment fame hinted at the potential development of a tactical strategy game set in the fantasy realm of Eora. He shared that many team members at the studio have expressed interest in creating such a game, as there is a significant number of tactics game enthusiasts within their community.

The studio’s design director mentioned this topic back several months, noting that multiple Obsidian employees have proposed the concept. However, determining the scale for this project is challenging, he notes. Questions like “how many developers do we assign to a more specialized genre?”, “how large should it be?”, and “how much time should we invest in making it visually appealing, comparable to projects like Avowed?” arise.

The design director of the studio discussed this topic months ago, pointing out that several Obsidian employees have suggested this idea. However, figuring out how large a team to assign for this niche genre, how big the project should be, and how much effort should go into its visual appeal (like projects such as Avowed) is difficult.

To kick off development, the team needs to have a clear understanding of a market segment where a profitable return can be expected,” Sawyer clarifies. “Since strategy games have an ardent fanbase, albeit not massive, it’s like there’s a minimum sales threshold. In essence, if you create a good tactics game, it will attract its dedicated fans. However, even with all of them purchasing the game, the number is still relatively small.

As a passionate gamer, I can’t help but feel excited about the potential for a return to the vast universe of Pillars of Eternity, given the hints dropped by the studio. Intriguingly, Obsidian Entertainment’s creative director, Sawyer, has expressed his desire to develop Pillars of Eternity 3, if only Xbox was ready to pen a check as big as what they might write for Baldur’s Gate 3. The game director of Avowed, Carrie Patel, shares this enthusiasm and longs for more opportunities to explore the captivating world we’ve come to love.

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2025-02-23 15:10