Will Baldur's Gate 3's Success Help Pillars of Eternity? Popular RPG Creator has no Illusions
Will the third part of Pillars of Eternity be created? Perhaps the money from Microsoft will help with the work on the game, and thanks to the success of Baldur's Gate 3 there will be increased interest in it among gamers.
Fans of Pillars of Eternity will have to wait a little longer for the possible next installment of these isometric RPGs. As the second game sold very poorly, it is not surprising that the developers prefer to wait with the third part. However, given the recent release of the widely-praised by players and critics Baldur's Gate 3, the new Pillars of Eternity could generate much more interest than previous installments.
BG3 has proven to be such a popular game that even the head of Larian was surprised by its activity score. This RPG offers team-based gameplay in fantasy setting, a ton of choices, a turn-based combat system and an isometric view (in 3D). Pillars of Eternity has a similar premise, so a new installment would certainly attract some players who, for example, have never had to deal with the series, but have become infatuated with Baldur's Gate 3.
Similar thoughts were shared by a Twitter/X user @felipepe, who stated that his friends would love to play RPGs such as Pathfinder, Solasta or the very PoE, but not in such an "old-school" style as before. He was answered by Josh Sawyer himself, i.e. the director of Pillars of Eternity:
"I'm waiting for the Xbox people to call us [Obsidian Entertainment - ed.] and say that they want Pillars 3 with a budget of $120 million. Any day now, I'm sure."
Pillars of Eternity 3 with such a budget could be significantly different from previous parts - in a positive sense. It's worth noting that the money for the second game was raised on Fig.co - this community fundraiser ended with a result of more than $4.4 million.
In 2020, Josh Sawyer announced that the team would have to be well prepared and excited about creating PoE 3 - developers after the release of the second game suffered from professional burnout. Who knows, perhaps the popularity of BG3 and a big cash injection from Microsoft (which bought Obsidian in 2018) would motivate the developers.
However, the possible release of Pillars of Eternity 3 won't happen too soon anyway. For now, the studio is busy with another project, albeit set in the same universe. Obsidian is developing an action RPG game called Avowed, which is scheduled to come out in 2024.
More:'Felt Like I was Making a Game Worse to Appeal to Audience,' Josh Sawyer on Pillars of Eternity
