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Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire sold fewer copies than first game

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire sold fewer copies than first game

RPG title Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has failed to meet the expectations of developer Obsidian. 

As revealed by design director Josh Sawyer (pictured) via Tumblr, the game's sales were “relatively low” and it failed to sell as many copies as the first entry in the series.

“It is difficult to know exactly why a sequel sells worse than its predecessor if both games review relatively well,” said Sawyer.

“Is it because the first game satisfied the existing need and the audience just wasn’t interested in the second? Is it because awareness was lower for the sequel?

“Is it because despite the strong reviews and the strong sales for the first game, people didn’t “really” like it? Maybe it’s a combination of all of these things.”

However, the studio has no idea why this happened. Sawyer claimed that without clear reasons it is difficult for the series to move forward.

“It is difficult to know exactly why a sequel sells worse than its predecessor if both games review relatively well,” explained Sawyer.

“Is it because the first game satisfied the existing need and the audience just wasn’t interested in the second? Is it because awareness was lower for the sequel?

“Is it because despite the strong reviews and the strong sales for the first game, people didn’t “really” like it? Maybe it’s a combination of all of these things.”

Sawyer continued: I’m sure some of the people reading this think they know precisely why Deadfire sold worse than Pillars one. I don’t have that confidence, which is one of several reasons why I am leery about trying to direct a sequel.

“I couldn’t give our (Obsidian’s) audience the game that they wanted and without understanding where I went wrong, I would be guessing at what the problems are and how to remedy them.”

Sawyer revealed in May 2018 that he would be taking some time away from directing games.

While the future of Pillars of Eternity remains uncertain, Obsidian's latest title - The Outer Worlds - has exceeded expectations.


Staff Writer

Kayleigh is the Staff Writer for PocketGamer.biz. Besides PGbiz and PCGI she has written as a list writer for Game Rant, rambling about any and all things games related. You can also find her on Twitter talking utter nonsense.