After a week or so of build-up and hints, Obsidian have revealed Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire on the crowdfunding platform Fig. The switch from Kickstarter isn’t hugely surprising, as Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart is one of Fig’s advisory board members.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is looking for $1.1 million USD of player funding, with digital copies of the game starting at $29. As always with crowdfunded stuff, there are physical rewards the higher up the tier chain you go (a boxed copy with bonuses, for example, is a $59 pledge). The Fig platform also allows actual investment in projects, the details of which can be read here. I’ve never done it (because I write about this stuff, so that’d be a massive conflict of interest), and like any investment it’s at your own risk.
The sequel premise is that Eothas, the God thought to have been ‘killed’, has actually been chilling underneath the Caed Nua stronghold in the first game. He has now returned, and doesn’t seem best pleased. As the Watcher (once again; and it sounds like there may be a possibility of decisions from the first game carrying over), it’s up to you to find out what Eothas wants, and what he’s up to.
That quest will take you to the Deadfire Archipelago, along with returning companions (Edér, Pellegina, Aloth) and several new friends. In the pitch video (below), Obsidian talk about the improvements that they’ll be making in this sequel. A new AI and pathfinding system should help combat run more smoothly, and they’re promising more dynamic tactical encounters to boot. They also plan to add more details to the world, making the realms of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire feel more alive with the motion of weather effects, people moving about their day-to-day business and the like. This should all stream in and load faster than the original game, too.
Here’s the trailer, along with some images. The estimated release date for Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is Q1 2018, but that of course may change.
