Obsidian Entertainment's beloved isometric RPG Pillars of Eternity just received an unexpected update, nine whole years after its initial release, and I have a sneaking suspicion that two other big games are responsible.
The new patch, currently only available on the beta branch for Steam, doesn’t bring any major features or unexpected changes. The patch notes instead lists several bug fixes, ironing out audio issues, misdirecting quest objectives, and other pesky problems. Studio design director Josh Sawyer hinted that the team couldn’t backport much-requested features over from the sequel, like a turn mode, because of problems with the game engine Unity 4.
Why update an almost ten-year-old game that isn’t currently in the limelight? Well, Avowed, the studio’s first-person take on the fantasy setting, is scheduled to release this year, and perhaps the team wants to smooth out the original game for newcomers stepping into Eora for the very first time.
There’s also the fact that Baldur’s Gate 3 courted more attention than any top-down RPG in at least a decade, with a surprisingly strong commercial performance succeeded by endless game of the year awards. Once the Forgotten Realms’ story is over, Baldur’s Gate 3 graduates might be hunting for similar games and the Pillars of Eternity duology are sure to blip on their radar.
Overall, newcomers have reasons aplenty to return or discover Eora in 2024, and this new update is likely just Obsidian thinking ahead rather than teasing something else. With that said, Josh Sawyer recently revealed that he would be open to making Pillars of Eternity 3, but only with a Baldur’s Gate 3 budget. Fingers crossed we see a PoE resurgence soon, then.
