Time to mark those calendars RPG fans, because not only is Cyberpunk 2077 finally hitting the scene next week but the Epic Games Store freebies will be two Obsidian modern classics - Pillars of Eternity - Definitive Edition and Tyranny - Gold Edition. Both are set to be next week's free games from December 11.


Pillars of Eternity probably needs no introduction, as per our review, "Playing the game is not an entirely nostalgic experience. It conjures up a genuine need for this style of RPG -- isometric, hand-drawn, party-driven, stat-heavy, and a whole lot of fun".

Lesser known is the more narrative and choice-driven Tyranny - which is something of a cult classic and a game I basically recommend to everyone that loves a good RPG story. In it's world evil has won and it's up to you to decide how that plays out. As per our review:


"Tyranny makes no attempt to provide a tale of the underdog, or shine a light on the noble and courageous few that resist the rule of Kyros. Thanks to the magic at her disposal, and the sheer size of her armies, this is a world where choice within a specific window of evil is everything. Where being the ‘good guy’ amounts to convincing a rag-tag group of rebels to drop their swords and join the Scarlet Chorus, where they will either be humiliated and systematically driven to become soulless killing machines or impaled on spikes."

Again, both games go up for grabs on December 11 - so be sure to pause Night City for a few moments to add them to your library via the Epic Games Store.

Joining the arrival of the indie hit Untitled Goose Game, which released overnight comes word that Obsidian's acclaimed RPG Pillars of Eternity is also coming to Xbox One via Xbox Game Pass. It arrives tomorrow in the form of a Complete Edition that includes all DLC and expansions.

Plus, revamped controls better suited to a controller ala the Nintendo Switch release from earlier this year.

We reviewed the PC version of the game way back in 2015 where we noted, "Playing the game is not an entirely nostalgic experience. It conjures up a genuine need for this style of RPG -- isometric, hand-drawn, party-driven, stat-heavy, and a whole lot of fun."

Which means tomorrow is going to be a big day for RPG fans with Xbox Game Pass, where in addition to console adaptation of Pillars of Eternity - CD Projekt RED's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is also coming to the subscription service.

In other Pillars new, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire will also be available on January 28th 2020 for Xbox One and PS4.

With Obsidian Entertainment's classic return to the isometric computer RPGs of yore being published by Versus Evil, and not Microsoft. Which re-affirms that it's still business as usual for the newest Xbox Game Studios member. Pillars of Eternity, which released in 2015, all but saved the studio thanks to its successful crowdfunding campaign. And now it's headed to Nintendo Switch.

It arrives August 8, and will include the two part DLC, The White March: Parts I & II.



This version comes with a new control scheme and updates to the UI to better suit couch and controller play. And of course on-the-go handheld play, which will no doubt make any long commute far more interesting. As per our original review, "It provides a thoughtful and detailed world in which to build a character and embark on a sprawling high-fantasy quest to uncover an ancient truth that could alter the fate of numerous nations and the entire world."

And if all goes well, this will pave the way for the excellent Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.

Obisidan's critically acclaimed RPG, Pillars of Eternity, is headed to both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 29. Dubbed the Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition, the console version of the isometric role-player will also include the The White March Part I and II expansions.



Development on Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition is being handled by Paradox Arctic, and will feature a number of changes with the transition to console. Including, a revamped UI and controls specifically designed for big screen couch gaming.

For those that need a crash course in Pillars of Eternity, it's an RPG in the mold of classic computer games from the '90s like Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. Where story is king, and deep RPG combat paves the way for both strategic planning and the building of a party of diverse characters.

If you have the physical time to play an Infinity Engine-style RPG then you have more time than me. Which is why Kosta took on the review mantle for Pillars of Eternity, though it might have been a bad idea given he's now being fed through a tube, unable to move from his seated position playing the game.

From his review:

And by that token Pillars of Eternity is a success, but more importantly, it feels very much like an Infinity Engine game. And hey, that was the aim all along. And with the market today being as diverse and fractured as it is, a game like Pillars of Eternity doesn’t need to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. It provides a thoughtful and detailed world in which to build a character and embark on a sprawling high-fantasy quest to uncover an ancient truth that could alter the fate of numerous nations and the entire world. Albeit, an ancient truth running at a much higher resolution than ever before. And one with the foresight to include the option to alter the game speed, giving people the ability to basically fast-forward through boring stuff. Like long walks from one side of the map to the other.

Click here for our full Pillars of Eternity review.

As one of the first crowdfunding success stories (raising over $4.5 million on Kickstarter), Obsidian Entertainment's Pillars of Eternity is finally out today for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Originally pitched as the spiritual successor to classic PC role-playing titles like Baldurs Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment, Pillars of Eternity aims to bring back a style of RPG many had thought was long gone.

“Moments like these feel surreal when they finally arrive,” said Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian Entertainment. “Today is the culmination of two years’ hard work, but there’s even more to it than the usual game release day. Given where we were when we started on Pillars of Eternity, this is the start of a new chapter in the story of Obsidian. We’ll be forever grateful to all of our fans and backers for making this moment possible, and truly hope that we have lived up to the faith you placed in us.”

Check out the launch trailer.

DLC has become a staple in today's gaming world, so when a developer actively seeks to not offer any its typically celebrated among gamers. Today, Pillars of Eternity's lead developer Josh Sawyer expressed exactly that when it comes to DLC for the game, preferring to keep it old-school.

In an interview with GameWatcher (via Games.On.Net), Sawyer was asked as to whether the team would be heading down the "DLC pack route", which his response was “No, we want to do a traditional expansion, and we’re in the early stages of planning for that right now.”

“Part of the Kickstarter campaign was a full expansion, so we’re definitely doing a Tales of the Sword Coast style campaign. We’re still in the early stages of design for that right now, though.”

Sawyer also revealed that the team is hoping to push typical gameplay tweaks and changes that are featured in an expansion out for free to the base game, in order for players not to have to pay for them.

“I would like to see any gameplay tweaks and changes we make in an expansion get rolled into a free patch,” said Sawyer. “If you don’t want to buy an expansion, you get all the same gameplay benefits without the extra story.”

Key developers behind Pillars of Eternity, the isometric-view RPG that generated about $4 million on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, will begin to discuss ideas for a sequel within a matter of weeks.

Though the Pillars of Eternity release date is just over a month away (March 26), the development team at Obsidian Entertainment has completed the main bulk of work and is already eager to discuss future plans.

"We're going to do some expansions because we said we would as a part of the Kickstarter," said studio chief executive Feargus Urquhart, as quoted by Polygon.

"We've already started working on artwork [for the expansions]. So we've already kind of figured out where we want to go in the world and the artists are doing some tests.”

He continued: "But with Pillars of Eternity 2, that's the next thing. Probably at the end of this month, Josh [Sawyer] and Adam [Brennecke], the key guys on the team are all going to sit down. They've already come up with a list of what they want to do, kind of new game systems and that kind of stuff. We're going to try and get going on that as soon as we can."

Pillars of Eternity thrived on Kickstarter and immediately attained cult status specifically because of its spiritual link to old Infinity Engine games such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale.

Now Urquhart is pondering whether Kickstarter is the right path to take for the sequel.

“I think so, I think that's what we'll do," he said.

"It's not 100 percent. The reason is because first we didn't want to do it until [Pillars of Eternity] came out. The second thing is that the Kickstarter stuff is kind of up and down here and there. But the Shadowrun guys look like they're pretty successful, they're like one and a half or two million. I know if we put exploding kittens in it we could make billions."

Obsidian is now applying finishing touches to the Pillars of Eternity PC build, including gameplay tweaks and balancing; issues which are being discovered via developer playthroughs.

"We told the entire team that no one works for a week and instead they just play the game," Urquhart said.

"It gave everyone a chance to be proud of what they had done and to figure out what they wanted to fix and change. This whole process has been great.”

Pillars of Eternity, developer Obsidian Entertainment's crowdfunded role-playing game, will be released March 26th, according to an email from lead producer Brandon Adler.

The game, formerly known as Project Eternity, will arrive on GOG, Steam and "other online retailers." Between now and the release date, Obsidian will be working on polishing, squashing bugs and the "finalization of … everything," including backer rewards.

“Everybody at Obsidian has been dedicated to ensuring that Pillars of Eternity is the game we said it would be ever since we launched the Kickstarter campaign,” said Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian Entertainment. “The community has been incredibly forthcoming with their feedback, and we want to thank all of our fans for being so engaged with the game’s development – and for giving us the time to implement their suggestions and ensure Pillars of Eternity is a game we can be proud of. We’ve used that time well, and the results will be worth the wait. The end is finally in sight, and our journey is nearly complete – at which point yours can begin.”

In anticipation of the game nearing completion, a selection of never-before-seen content from Pillars of Eternity will be revealed via a live stream, hosted by Josh Sawyer, the game’s Project Director. Sawyer will take viewers on a journey through the world of Pillars of Eternity to show what has been accomplished since the release of the backer beta.

Paradox Interactive has let us know that Obsidian's crowd-funded RPG, Pillars of Eternity, is now officially available for preorder on Steam with exclusive in-game items for anyone who jumps in early on a 10% discount bonus.

The in-game content is the same that will also be given to anyone who threw in on the game's Kickstarter. There is also going to be a live stream of new, never-before-seen content this Friday morning (8am AEDT) that you can tee up by clicking here.

We've done some extensive coverage of this game in the past, including an in-depth interview with Obsidian's Josh Sawyer.

Watch a new trailer for the game embedded below.

RPG fans awaiting the launch of Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity will sadly have to wait just a little bit longer, with publisher Paradox announcing this morning that the game has been pushed back to 2015.

Pillars of Eternity was successfully funded via crowdfunding website Kickstarter two years ago, raising almost $4 million against its goal of $1 million. Originally slated for a release in April 2014, the game was then delayed to this half of the year back in February for further tweaks and development.

"Since the very beginning of this project we promised our fans and ourselves that we would release this game only when we knew it would be absolutely ready for the best experience possible,” writes Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart. “We're very close to that point, but not quite there yet. The feedback we have received through our playtest process has been invaluable to us. We are coming into the home stretch but are pushing the release out just a bit to make sure we honor that promise we made originally. Thanks for your patience and support, it will be worth the wait."

PC Gamer recently had the chance to sit down with Obsidian Entertainment Josh Sawyer, the Project Director on the very successfully crowdfunded Pillars of Eternity, and they've published video footage of the conversation, which runs for over 40 minutes and includes a half hour play through of the game.

As promised in its original Kickstarter pledge, Pillars of Eternity draws heavy inspiration from the studio's heritage with the likes of Baldurs Gate and Icewind Dale, and the gameplay demonstration walks through a recent demo build of the game with a detailed explanation of many features and mechanics starting with the in-depth character customisation and showing off plenty of dialogue and combat. Watch the whole thing in full embedded below, or over at PC Gamer.

Pillars of Eternity is expected in late 2014 on PC, Mac and Linux.

Developer Obsidian has released a score from the old school-inspired, Kickstarter success Pillars of Eternity soundtrack to give anxious adventurers a taste of what to expect when the game releases later this year. The music is an ambient background tune for the Dyrford Village area.

The man behind the music, Audio Director Justin Bell, noted in a forum post that he looks to the Infinity Engine games (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale) for inspiration, blending "tropes found in European folk and pre-Renaissance modal music" with modern techniques. Bell also wrote that he listens for inspiration during his daily commute to work, and that he reads Johann Sebastian Bach daily.

Take a listen below, and let us know your thoughts on this rather classy piece. For more on Pillars of Eternity, catch up with our latest interviews with Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart and developer Josh Sawyer for a great look into the development of their crowd-funded title.

Celebrated independent game development studio Obsidian Entertainment recently signed a deal with publisher Paradox Entertainment to handle distribution and marketing for its Kickstarter crowdfunded RPG Pillars of Eternity. Already hard at work on the PR hookups, Paradox reps previously scored us some quality time with Eternity director Josh Sawyer (Read that one here) and today we have a further one on one with Obsidian founder and CEO Feargus Urquhart.

Feargus was gracious enough to chat with us some more about Project Eternity, as well as the recently announced free-to-play tank 'em up Armored Warfare, the studio’s involvement in the lush CryEngine-powered Russian MMO Skyforge, and more. Read on for the full interview.

With publisher Paradox Entertainment having recently taken on marketing and distribution duties for Pillars of Eternity, AusGamers was fortunate enough to score some quality Q&A time with Obsidian Entertainment's Josh Sawyer to discuss the studio's much anticipated crowdfunded return to the classic party-based isometric style RPG.

A veteran of the celebrated Black Isle studios and acclaimed Icewind Dale games, Sawyer offers plenty of insight into Project Eternity's development process and confirms the studio's intention to run some manner of public beta testing ahead of the game's now planned late 2014 launch.

AusGamers: I believe the latest hints at a release target for Pillars of Eternity were pointing to late this year. Is the current plan to launch then as a feature-complete game or will there be public alphas for the backers or any other type of early access things preceding that?

Josh: Yeah I think we’ll have beta access at some point before release, and that’s good, because it will get a lot of eyes on the game and people can give feedback. People do have a tendency to be extremely negative during betas, but that’s ok [laughs]. I’d much rather get their feedback at that point, so we can just fix it, or see how they respond, rather than come out with the game and suddenly have them all going “Oh, I hate this UI; I can’t do any of this stuff”; Oh whoops, I wish we’d have seen that earlier. So we are planning on having a beta beforehand.

Read the full Pillars of Eternity interview for the full Q&A session.