In a move that will probably surprise no one, Obsidian Entertainment Feargus Urquhart has confirmed that a sequel to Pillars of Eternity is in the works. Pillars of Eternity was a Kickstarter-funded game that promised to be a return to classic isometric RPGs such as Baldur's Gate. In an age where even Bioware has moved towards more action-oriented titles, a game like Pillars was likely a bit of a gamble for Obsidian, but it was one that paid off as the game released to critical acclaim, got a two-part expansion, and even our review liked it.
In an interview with Gamepressure, Feargus confirmed that a sequel to Pillars is in the works and that it will most likely be crowdfunded like the original. He said that he believes Obsidian fulfilled their promise with the first entry in the series and that gamers would be willing to support a sequel due to the trust the company earned with the first game. Feargus did clarify that this was not an official announcement but felt it would be silly to not acknowledge the game when asked about it.
Fans of the original will be glad to know that Josh Sawyer, who served as project director for Pillars, is still planning on working on the sequel despite his promotion to Obsidian's design director.
Pillars of Eternity II is not the only game Obsidian is working on. Last March, they revealed Tyranny, a brand new IP set in a world where the forces of evil have trumped and an evil king rules the land. Instead of casting players in the role of a chosen hero, players will instead be a Fatebinder. Fatebinders act as enforcers of Kyros' will. Whether players will fight to bring hope to a troubled land or remain loyal to the forces of tyranny is strictly up to them.
In addition to Tyranny, Obsidian has another IP in the works. The studio hasn't given any concrete info aside from the fact that it is not a Star Wars game. We also know that Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, both of whom worked on Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines while at Troika Games, will be working on the new title although it doesn't appear to be a game set in the World of Darkness IP.
Quick Take
Pillars of Eternity was one of my favorite games of 2015. The challenging combat, combined with a great narrative and old-school feel created a game that I'm still playing to this day. As excited as I am for Pillars II, Tyranny is the one I'm really looking forward to simply because the idea of exploring a world where evil already one is very refreshing in a genre saturated with "chosen hero" stories. As for the unknown IP, I'm really hoping it's something within the vein of World of Darkness even if it can't be set in that universe.
