Obsidian confirms Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire for Nintendo Switch

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is headed to its flagship platforms later this month, coming to PC, Linux and Mac. Console versions are known to have been in the works for quite some time, with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 confirmed during its crowdfunding phase, however Obsidian has now revealed that the Nintendo Switch will be getting the same treatment.

The console versions of the Pillars sequel will be handled by Paradox Arctic, a studio offshoot of Pillars of Eternity publisher, Paradox Interactive. The developer handled the console ports of the first title and both of its sizeable expansions to great success.

“Paradox Arctic did an incredible job when they brought Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Frankly, they created a better console game than we thought possible, and proved to everyone that Pillars of Eternity not only makes a great PC game, but a great console game as well,” explains Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart to Eurogamer.

“Now with Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, and with our publishing partner, Versus Evil, we are not only bringing Pillars of Eternity back to the PS4 and Xbox One, but also to the Nintendo Switch. Bringing the Pillars brand to new and exciting platforms like the Switch is something that hits the Obsidian team's inner child, since most of us have been playing on Nintendo hardware as far back as the 8-bit days. We simply can't wait to see what our console fans think of Deadfire when it comes out.”

This is brilliant news for Nintendo as it sees even more third-party support for its Switch platform, but there might be some technical constraints not seen on other platforms. As Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese notes, loading times for the first Pillars title on PlayStation 4 mounted up on his playthrough meaning that the same or worse might possibly be seen from the weaker hardware found in the Switch. Still, until benchmarking confirms this, it is all just speculation.

The flagship PC, Linux and Mac versions of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire are set to arrive on April 3rd, with the console versions expected later in the year.

KitGuru Says: It excites me to see so many titles announcing a Switch release date, as it ensures the longevity of the console in comparison to its predecessor, which had a notably short lifespan. Hopefully Pillars II runs well, meaning we will see more support from the developer and publisher moving forward. Are you excited for Pillars of Eternity II?

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