Obsidian has floated the idea of a Pillars Of Eternity: Tactics, but it is still in flux because 'the audience, which is usually not large, but very passionate,'

Obsidian is currently, and understandably, quite busy with Avowed, an RPG that it has been keen to remind everyone is not Skyrim. It also produced the Pillars Of Eternity games, which are set in the same world as Avowed. While the second entry enjoyed critical success it did not sell as well as you might have hoped.

Josh Sawyer, Obsidian's studio design director, has stated that he would like to have a budget similar to Baldur's gate 3 if he were ever to make a third game. But what about a tactical game as a special treat?

In the world of videogame RPGs there is a niche that has been filled by tactics spin-offs. While RPGs are primarily focused on telling a story, combat is only one part of the experience. Tactics games focus on the details of hitting people with swords in a grid. It's like the difference between a TTRPG such as D&D and Wargames like Warhammer 40k. It's not that a strategy game can't include a story ,the latest one I played was excellent in this regard, but it's less of a focal point.

There's a lot of cross-pollination. As well as TTRPGs such as D&D, games like Fallout, Final Fantasy, and wargames, have all had their own tactics-based spin-offs. It's easy to see why: if you have a good RPG system in place, you already have a lot of raw materials for a tactical game.

According to Sawyer in a recent interview on Limit Break Network, Obsidian has certainly entertained the idea. "I know that there have been several people at the studio, who have floated an idea of a Pillars: Tactics"

Sawyer tempers my expectations despite the immediate, mighty appetite I feel after receiving this information: "Tactics Games are very interesting to us, and they occupy an interesting space in the market, because their audience is not large, but very passionate. They'll play them a lot, even if they are not that good."

It's not surprising that Sawyer is concerned about the commercial viability of a series with a recent history of sales struggles. A small, dedicated fan base, however, does not make for a successful business: "But the cap on it, like, is not huge." Fire Emblem, for example, is a popular example of a breakout hit. It's not a new idea, but it's one that many people have discussed and thought about. It's hard to make a convincing case for.

"Every now and then, we'll bring up the subject, and say, 'we might be able to, I don't know ...?' I'll say that not only for myself, but a lot of other people in the studio have pitched their own versions a Pillars: Tactics, so who know. Maybe someday."

It would also be in character for the studio, as Tom Caswell correctly points out. Avowed is a spin-off, and Obsidian doesn't mind smaller projects like Pentiment. It's not impossible to combine the core, crunchy CRPG components that are already present into a more modest package. It'll be a distant memory for Obsidian, if ever it happens, as Avowed is coming up.