What started out as a crowdfunded throwback CRPG project has grown into a beloved series that spans two acclaimed Pillars of Eternity games, a handful of expansions, and the recently-released first-person off-shoot Avowed. Now, some Obsidian Entertainment developers have an appetite to see things continue in the form of a strategy game.
Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and Pentiment director Josh Sawyer has once again talked about the possibility of making a tactical strategy game set in the fantasy world of Eora, explaining that "Pillars Tactics is a thing that a lot of people at the studio would like to work on, and there are a lot of people that like tactics games," in a recent livestream.
The studio design director brought up the topic several months ago, too, as several Obsidian employees have apparently pitched the idea, but "figuring out a scope [for] it" is tricky, he says. How many developers do you dedicate to a relatively niche genre? How big do you make it? How much time do you dedicate to making it as pretty as, say, Avowed?
"A scope of development where it feels like it could actually make money," is what the team would need before development starts, Sawyer continues. "Because tactics games have a very enthusiastic fanbase, but the fanbase is not humungous. It's sort of like that floor is high - like, if you make a decent tactics game, those people are gonna buy it. But if all of them buy it, that's still not that many people.
Beyond Avowed, the chances of the studio returning to its now-expansive universe are fairly high. Sawyer has also expressed interest in making a Pillars of Eternity 3 if Xbox was wiling to write a Baldur's Gate 3-sized cheque. And Avowed game director Carrie Patel would "love to see us do more" in the "wonderful world."
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