Pillars of Eternity – Partnership FAQ for Backers

[BAdler]

Obsidian and Paradox Interactive have announced that they’ll be working together to bring Pillars of Eternity to the masses, with Obsidian handling 100% of the development while Paradox assumes responsibility for all the marketing and distribution responsibilities.

 

We’ve put together this handy dandy FAQ to answer any questions you may already have, and we’ll continuously update the FAQ to incorporate the questions you’ve thought of that we haven’t.

 

Pillars of Eternity is still on track to be the amazing cRPG you asked for and backed, and we’re forever grateful to you all.

 

Send us those questions and we’ll do our best to answer them.

 

-Obsidian and Paradox Interactive

 

What is this partnership about?

Simply put, Paradox is assuming responsibility for the marketing and distribution of Pillars of Eternity. What this means is that Obsidian can now devote all of their time and resources to the development of Pillars of Eternity and make the game the best it can be.

 

Why Paradox?

Paradox has its roots in PC gaming and is known for publishing and developing some very niche titles. Like you, they’re fans of RPGs from the Infinity Engine days and have been around almost as long. Heck, some of them are even backers! If anyone can appreciate the passion and dedication of this project, it is certainly Paradox.

 

I donated money so Obsidian could take on this project solo, why take on a partner?

By handing off duties not related to development, Obsidian can focus on making the game that much better. We truly believe this is for the good of the game and, by extension, for the good of the community.

 

Does Obsidian still own the IP for Pillars of Eternity?

Absolutely, no changes here.

 

If Obsidian now has a partner, will they be assisting in the development of Pillars of Eternity?

Obsidian is still fully in charge of development and will continue to be so all the way through launch and beyond.

 

With Paradox on board, is more money being given to the project?

Pillars of Eternity is still being funded solely by the donations given by the community and the scope hasn’t changed, with Obsidian still 100% in charge of development and every single penny raised by the community going toward development.

 

I’m supposed to receive a backer reward, has anything changed?

Nothing has changed on this front. If you were promised an item, whether it be digital or physical, rest assured that you will still receive it. For those that get to help design aspects of the game, you’ll also still get to participate and should have already been contacted by Obsidian. To ensure your submission, please visit https://eternity.obsidian.net/.

 

Will Pillars of Eternity still be released this year? 

As communicated previously, we’re confident that Pillars of Eternity will be wrapped up by year’s end. The partnership has no influence over our projected launch date.

[LordCrash]

Great news. 

[Greensleeve]

I understand that this is probably not something you can really answer, but I'd like to know how this will affect profits. As it was up until know, Obsidian would receive all the profit, but now that Paradox is involved, that obviously won't be true. I'm not asking for percentages on how this will be split, but I would like to know how this will affect the scope, size, and resources available to the expansion pack and potential sequels. 

[Gyges]

How will they handle distribution of physical copies? I've wondered about how you are gonna designate the packages since we didn't directly purchase them. I'm asking because my country has ridiculously high customs fees and having the package designated as a gift would be a boon .

Edited March 18, 2014 by Gyges

[LordCrash]

I understand that this is probably not something you can really answer, but I'd like to know how this will affect profits. As it was up until know, Obsidian would receive all the profit, but now that Paradox is involved, that obviously won't be true. I'm not asking for percentages on how this will be split, but I would like to know how this will affect the scope, size, and resources available to the expansion pack and potential sequels. 

I would say that the scope for expansion packs and sequels hasn't changed since it already reliesd heavily on the sales of the game after release in the first place...the more poeple buy the game the better, same situation...

[tajerio]

I understand that this is probably not something you can really answer, but I'd like to know how this will affect profits. As it was up until know, Obsidian would receive all the profit, but now that Paradox is involved, that obviously won't be true. I'm not asking for percentages on how this will be split, but I would like to know how this will affect the scope, size, and resources available to the expansion pack and potential sequels. 

 

I second this.  Though I imagine Obsidian made the call that splitting some profits with Paradox would result in more return than trying to market and distribute on their own dime.

[Jon of the Wired]

Seems reasonable.

[LordCrash]

To me it was clear from the very beginning that they would partner up with someone else for marketing and distribution. That's the "usual" way kickstarter projects are handled since usually nobody at the corresponding dev studios has deeper experience with these topics or connections to the distribution industry. Making that stuff by yourself would mean to make something you don't know anything about and that's never a good idea...

Personally, I'm delighted that they chose Paradox since I think these guys are really cool and know PC gaming quite well.

[BAdler]

I understand that this is probably not something you can really answer, but I'd like to know how this will affect profits. As it was up until know, Obsidian would receive all the profit, but now that Paradox is involved, that obviously won't be true. I'm not asking for percentages on how this will be split, but I would like to know how this will affect the scope, size, and resources available to the expansion pack and potential sequels. 

 

This partnership actually puts Obsidian in a better position to create more Eternity content (DLC/Sequels).

[BAdler]

How will they handle distribution of physical copies? I've wondered about how you are gonna designate the packages since we didn't directly purchase them. I'm asking because my country has ridiculously high customs fees and having the package designated as a gift would be a boon .

We don't have the exact answers, but one of the reasons that we partnered with Paradox was because they understand fulfillment in Europe better than most companies. They will definitely do everything they can to make sure that everything is as smooth as possible for all of our European friends.

[Galomtala]

Is this the announcement, which is a topic of the Obsidian General Forum, or is there still something else? 

Edited March 19, 2014 by Galomtala

[LordCrash]

Will Paradox also take over customer support?

[tarasis]

I'm kinda pleased at the news, well see how it plays out I guess. As long as Obsidian remains in charge and Paradox won't be forcing it out the door sooner than it should to meet store commitments

[Infinitron]

I understand that this is probably not something you can really answer, but I'd like to know how this will affect profits. As it was up until know, Obsidian would receive all the profit, but now that Paradox is involved, that obviously won't be true. I'm not asking for percentages on how this will be split, but I would like to know how this will affect the scope, size, and resources available to the expansion pack and potential sequels. 

 

If it's anything like inXile's deal with Deep Silver, then Paradox will get a portion (perhaps the majority) of the profit on physical copies of the game sold in shops, but all digital purchases go directly to Obsidian.

[SqueakyCat]

Will Paradox also take over customer support?

 

I'm curious about this as well.  Aren't they a Swedish based company? 

 

It's unlikely everyone's orders will be fulfilled with 100% accuracy (although that would be great).  Who do you contact if there is a missing item, etc.?  I live in the U.S.   What about Chris' trolls?

[Elerond]

Partnership with Paradox is good news to me, as Swedish company they probably have ability to ship physical goods in EU and especially to Finland so that I don't need to worry about customs and extra taxes.

[Bryy]

I'll just go down to Irvine and bang on the door.

 

Customer support!

[BrainMuncher]

Is this arrangement more or less functionally equivalent to the already known distribution deal with gog and steam, but for the physical side of things?

 

I think it would put people's minds at ease if it were explained like that, knowing that essentially Obsidian has hired Paradox to perform a service for them. As opposed to having voluntarily entered slavery for a slice of stale bread.

[LordCrash]

Is this arrangement more or less functionally equivalent to the already known distribution deal with gog and steam, but for the physical side of things?

 

I think it would put people's minds at ease if it were explained like that, knowing that essentially Obsidian has hired Paradox to perform a service for them. As opposed to having voluntarily entered slavery for a slice of stale bread.

Obsidian outsourced marketing, physical distribution and kickstarter fulfilment to Paradox Interactive.

[LordCrash]

 

I understand that this is probably not something you can really answer, but I'd like to know how this will affect profits. As it was up until know, Obsidian would receive all the profit, but now that Paradox is involved, that obviously won't be true. I'm not asking for percentages on how this will be split, but I would like to know how this will affect the scope, size, and resources available to the expansion pack and potential sequels. 

 

If it's anything like inXile's deal with Deep Silver, then Paradox will get a portion (perhaps the majority) of the profit on physical copies of the game sold in shops, but all digital purchases go directly to Obsidian.

 

I can't say for sure but I guess that Paradox will get a 30% cut of the sales of physical copies or even a bit more (also depends on how much the production of the physical goods will cost). That's along the lines of what Steam and GoG take for digital distribution.

Edited March 19, 2014 by LordCrash

[Infinitron]

I can't say for sure but I guess that Paradox will get a 30% cut of the sales of physical copies or even a bit more (also depends on how much the production of the physical goods will cost). That's along the lines of what Steam and GoG take for digital distribution.

 

If that's the kind of deal that they're making, it's probably more than that.

 

Nowadays PC games make almost all of their money on digital (on Steam, to be precise), so giving Paradox just 30% on the already small amount of physical sales would be a pretty measly payoff for them.

[LordCrash]

 

I can't say for sure but I guess that Paradox will get a 30% cut of the sales of physical copies or even a bit more (also depends on how much the production of the physical goods will cost). That's along the lines of what Steam and GoG take for digital distribution.

 

If that's the kind of deal that they're making, it's probably more than that.

 

Nowadays PC games make almost all of their money on digital (on Steam, to be precise), so giving Paradox just 30% on the already small amount of physical sales would be a pretty measly payoff for them.

 

Sure but many old-school fans of old-school RPGs also like old-school physical copies I guess. At least I know a few people who think so (personally, I'm more the digital guy).

 

I don't know for sure whether Paradox will take over the complete marketing which also means digital or just the handling of physical distribution and marketing of that part (like bringing the copies to the stores like Gamestop and stuff). In the former case the cut might be higher in the latter one I don't think it has to be the case. But as I said, that also depends on how much the production of the physical games will cost and how big Paradox' marketing budget will be...it's only speculation here.

[Hiro Protagonist II]

I don't think it's good to speculate on percentages. It comes across as a pointless exercise. Doing some google searching, you can speculate on a rough percentile range, but ultimately does it really matter? Paradox are distributing the physical goods. Obsidian are developers, not distributors and doesn't need to worry about that anymore and can concentrate on the game. The digitial copies will be still with Steam and GoG and you'll get your key at the backer portal. 

Edited March 19, 2014 by Hiro Protagonist II

[Bryy]

 

 

I can't say for sure but I guess that Paradox will get a 30% cut of the sales of physical copies or even a bit more (also depends on how much the production of the physical goods will cost). That's along the lines of what Steam and GoG take for digital distribution.

 

If that's the kind of deal that they're making, it's probably more than that.

 

Nowadays PC games make almost all of their money on digital (on Steam, to be precise), so giving Paradox just 30% on the already small amount of physical sales would be a pretty measly payoff for them.

 

Sure but many old-school fans of old-school RPGs also like old-school physical copies I guess. 

As much as its just a nostalgia thing, it's also an unfortunate reality of Kickstarter.

[Humanoid]

The most important question seems to have been missed: will there be a Paradox logo on the backer game boxes?

 

 

Edited March 19, 2014 by Humanoid