There's a double-whammy of Obsidian-Entertainment-shaped RPG freebies coming to the Epic Games Store next week, so if you've been eager to sink your adventuring mitts into either Pillars of Eternity or Tyranny, you now know where to point your internet in the coming days.

They're both good 'uns, of course, with Pillars of Eternity managing to secure itself a Eurogamer Recommended badge when it released back in 2015. It's a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, deliberately designed to replicate the nostalgic old-school whiff of '90s RPGs - which is to say, exactly what the 73,000 people who stumped up four million dollars to support the project on Kickstarter were hoping for.

There's overworld exploration and dungeon crawling to be done as one of the game's eleven classes - Barbarian, Chanter, Cipher, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Priest, Ranger, Rogue, and Wizard - and the end result is an experience Eurogamer called "an RPG with [its] design firmly rooted in nostalgia, but one that absolutely doesn't rely on it to be enjoyable today."

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I visited Obsidian Entertainment a couple of weeks ago for the reveal of the studio's first game for new owner Microsoft. If you remember, The Outer Worlds was published by Private Division, Take-Two's label for partnering with independent studios (Obsidian was independent when the deal was made). This was, then, a significant moment.

The game itself was a bit of an anti-climax - Grounded, a small-team survival game with a Honey I Shrunk the Kids hook - but I still got an opportunity to nose around the studio and see what changed post-acquisition and since I visited in August 2017.

The answer, in a nutshell, is "not a lot", which is encouraging. Obsidian still resides in the same office block in the eerily perfect city of Irvine, California, and still occupies the same amount of office space. It's still a bit tatty, which I like, and the only real sign there's now Microsoft money behind the studio is a pile of boxes with computers and monitors in them.

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Will there be a Pillars of Eternity 3? It sounds like the series' design chief wants to work out what went wrong with the last game before taking on another sequel.

Old-school role-playing game Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire was critically acclaimed but sold poorly compared to its predecessor and other, similar games. Obsidian's Josh Sawyer has said he wants to work out why before committing to making Pillars of Eternity 3.

"That is not something that I get to decide, but I do think that the relatively low sales of Deadfire mean that if we consider making another Pillars game in this style, we're going to have to re-examine the entire format of the game," Sawyer wrote on his Tumblr.

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You can pick up Borderlands, Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny and many more all-consuming games in the latest Humble RPG Bundle.

As usual, it's a multi-tier affair with the more money you commit granting you access to even more games. Starting at a ridiculously low 83p, you'll get Hiveswap: Act 1, Deep Sky Derelicts and Immortal Planet for the minimum investment. I haven't had the pleasure of trying any of these games for myself, though hearing Deep Sky Derelicts described as a "procedurally-generated roguelite turn-based RPG with cards" has me intrigued. That is, after recovering from the barrage of buzzwords.

Things get a little more recognisable on the second tier, though, where you can pay 3.48 to get Tyranny, Pillars of Eternity and Cat Quest. Now, the first two are easily up there with some of the best cRPGs of the modern era. Perhaps not quite Divinity: Original Sin level, but both are undoubtedly terrific games. As for Cat Quest, well, do you really need any more convincing after hearing that title?

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"I forget everything between footsteps.

"'Anna!' I finish shouting, snapping my mouth shut in surprise.

"My mind has gone blank. I don't know who Anna is or why I'm calling her name. I don't even know how I got here. I'm standing in a forest, shielding my eyes from the spitting rain. My heart's thumping, I reek of sweat and my legs are shaking. I must have been running but I can't remember why.

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Microsoft is reportedly close to finalising a deal to acquire Obsidian Entertainment, the acclaimed developer behind the likes of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas, and Pillars of Eternity.

Word of the seemingly imminent acquisition comes via Kotaku, which cites "three people briefed on the negotiations" as sources. The deal between Microsoft and Obsidian is said to be "90%" complete, with one source stating that "It's a matter of when, not if."

Obsidian has remained independent since it was founded in 2003, so talk of an acquisition might initially seem unlikely. However, Kotaku notes that the studio has often faced "financial strain" over the years, almost completely collapsing in 2012 when Microsoft, under different leadership, cancelled an ambitious Xbox One exclusive called Stormlands that the companies had been working on together.

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Obsidian's new but old fashioned role-playing game Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire has been delayed a month on PC. Rather than come out 3rd April it will now be released 8th May.

"We know you're as excited as we are about the upcoming launch of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire," said Obsidian in a statement. "As you have probably guessed, Deadfire is a huge game - significantly larger than the original Pillars of Eternity. Obsidian has been working harder than Abydon himself to make every inch of it awesome, as well as incorporating all the great feedback we have been getting from everyone playing the backer beta.

"With this in mind, we are taking just a few extra weeks to polish and put those finishing touches on the game."

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Forget Sea of Thieves' boats and check out Pillars of Eternity 2's! They're a whole new feature in the sequel and there's a lot more to them than I expected.

Your boat is a mobile home and your way around the Deadfire archipelago, although you have to keep an eye on resources you gobble while you explore - it's quite expensive in that regard.

Boats are operated by a crew you collect on your journeys around the world and they occupy positions on your ship according to their proficiencies, which seem to be Boatswain, Helmsman, Navigator, Cannoneer, Surgeon, Cook and Deckhand.

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Sprawling role-playing sequel Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, which looks every bit a Sure Thing, has not only been confirmed for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it's been confirmed for Nintendo Switch.

Red Cerberus will handle the console conversions, not Paradox Arctic which did the Pillars of Eternity 1 PS4 and Xbox One ports. [This article previously and erroneously stated Paradox Arctic would handle the conversions.]

Those Pillars 1 ports were perfectly playable but the loading screen waits mounted up after a while. Nevertheless, they're technical hurdles I'm sure can be overcome, and if the Switch version works fluidly enough, it could be an ideal platform for a long, winding, adventure. You could play while on the toilet, for example, or while pretending to be asleep in bed.

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Obsidian and Versus Evil have announced a 3rd April release date for Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. The game will be available on PC, Mac and Linux.

There are three editions to consider - standard, Deluxe, and Obsidian - plus pre-order incentives. One incentive is a white hawk pet to serve as a kind of flashy parrot aboard your ship in the game - Pillars 2 has base ships, remember. Another incentive is a black pirate flag for your ship. A pirate flag!

The more expensive editions pack a few digital bonuses as well as some in-game tidbits. Most notable is the $75 Obsidian Edition, which grants you the game's first three $10 DLC expansions, which I hadn't heard about before.

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