August is supposed to mire video gamers in the doldrums as they wait for the arrival of the first of the big Fall releases in September. The outlook for RPG fans is not so bleak. This August World of Warcraft gets a new expansion, the Switch gets a new Monster Hunter game while the PC gets a port of Monster Hunter World, and the first DLC packs arrive for the second games in the Pillars of Eternity and Ni No Kuni series. The RPGs on the horizon are both promising and varied. Here's what August has in store for players who enjoy RPGs.

Pillars of Eternity is an ambitious and successful gamble on role-playing game nostalgia, aimed squarely at people who enjoyed Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment. The first game, released in 2015, brought in $4m in funding on Kickstarter. Its sequel, Deadfire, also raised over $4m in crowdfunding, and has just been released. Unlike its predecessor, Deadfire is arriving into a market with many similar games attempting to leverage 90s RPG nostalgia while adding their own twists to the genre. It doesn't rock the boat too much, but a fresh theme, clever writing and improvements to the look and feel make it a very enjoyable play. Speaking of boats, in Deadfire you are a naval explorer: you choose where you go, on land or at sea, and what route you take.

The groundwork was laid for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire to be a spectacular sequel. Its predecessor, 2015's Pillars of Eternity, did the heavy lifting. It proved Obsidian could resurrect the spirit of the old Infinity Engine RPGs for modern times, underpinned by modern technology. Flawed, sure--the original Pillars of Eternity had its problems. But with the engine developed and the underlying rules in place, the stage seemed set for a daring sequel, if not Baldur's Gate II-sized at least one that felt that grand in scope.

Let that sink in a bit--and then read on because the story gets even weirder from there. That news, plus The Banner Saga 3 and Pillars of Eternity II nail down release dates, DICE talks overhauling Battlefront II's multiplayer progression, Anthem (probably) gets delayed, and Humble hands out copies of Amnesia: The Dark Descent--replacement pants not included. The Sea of Thieves closed beta is also in full swing. This is gaming news for January 22 to 26. That's copies of Frictional's horror classic Amnesia: The Dark Descent and the more relaxed follow-up Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs from The Chinese Room.

Obsidian Entertainment took to rewards and investment crowdfunding platform Fig on Friday in hopes of getting enough support from backers to develop its "Pillars of Eternity" sequel, "Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire." Less than 24 hours since the crowdfunding project was launched, the company reached its goal of $1,100,000. Because of this, fans can now expect the game to arrive on Steam, GOG and other platforms next year. According to Obsidian, players can expect "Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire" to arrive within the first quarter of 2018. There isn't a specific date for the release of the game yet, but it has already received the green light given the fervent support of backers.

Obsidian Entertainment's crowdfunder for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire reached its funding goal of $1.1 million in less than one day. Deadfire is the sequel to the original Pillars of Eternity that set Kickstarter funding records by raising $4 million in 2012. Feargus Urquhart, the CEO of Obsidian Entertainment, is a member of the advisory board of Fig, a crowdfunding platform devoted to games. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is being funded through Fig rather than Kickstarter. Fig is significantly different from Kickstarter.

RPG guru Josh Sawyer is busy these days. Yesterday we wrote about Francis Ford Coppola's studio turning Apocalypse Now into a video game with Sawyer's help. After a week of very obvious teasing, Obsidian's officially announcing a follow-up to its acclaimed Infinity Engine-style CRPG Pillars of Eternity, on which Josh Sawyer served as lead designer. Titled Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, it's also embarking on a crowdfunding campaign today. Obsidian's hoping to raise $1.1 million through Fig--no surprise there, since Obsidian's CEO Feargus Urquhart is involved in Fig's advisory board.