Obsidian's public PC beta adds full controller support to Pillars of Eternity and Deadfire, with Steam Deck support, radial menus, and Deadfire turn-based changes.
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Store links: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire on Steam, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - Beast of Winter on Steam
Obsidian opens a controller beta for both Pillars games on PC
Obsidian Entertainment has opened public PC controller support testing for Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, a change the studio says lets players complete either RPG with a gamepad from character creation through the end credits. For Deadfire, Obsidian’s announcement adds that the same support extends into naval combat, one of the sequel’s major structural additions.
The immediate tension is that this is a major quality-of-life update for two dense party-based CRPGs, but it is not the finished release yet. Obsidian describes the build as a public test, says players should expect bugs, and has not given a firm end date. Rock Paper Shotgun reported that the test “will run for some time” while Obsidian continues updating it for a full release, and RPG Site quotes the studio saying it will collect reports, issues, and suggestions throughout the test.
That puts the new Pillars of Eternity controller support in a useful but cautious place. It is live enough for Steam players to try, broad enough to cover the full campaign loop, and still provisional enough that a long-running save, a fussy build, or a completionist route through quest-heavy areas may be better served by waiting unless you actively want to help test.
What “full controller support” covers in practice
The headline feature is scope. Obsidian says both games can now be played with a controller in Real-Time with Pause and Turn-Based Mode. For the first Pillars of Eternity, GamingOnLinux’s reproduction of the patch notes lists controller support across character creation, exploration, combat, conversations, inventory, crafting and enchanting, the Stronghold, and the world map. That matters because Pillars is a game of many small interfaces: talent picks, party formations, stash management, scripted interactions, reputation choices, and the slow accumulation of equipment decisions across a campaign.
The update adds radial menus for quick access to abilities, spells, and party commands, according to Obsidian’s announcement as quoted by multiple outlets. Button prompts are shown throughout the interface, and those prompts change depending on the input being used. Obsidian also says players can switch between controller and mouse and keyboard at any time, with the game following the active input.
Supported setups include Xbox and PlayStation controllers, Steam Deck, and Steam Big Picture mode. GamingOnLinux’s patch-note excerpt also says Steam Deck and Big Picture support includes the on-screen keyboard for naming characters and writing notes. That is a small detail on paper, but for these games it is the difference between a controller layer that works in combat and one that can actually carry a new Watcher through the administrative parts of a CRPG campaign.
Deadfire gets the larger systems shake-up
The Deadfire gamepad update is arriving alongside changes to Pillars of Eternity II’s turn-based mode. Obsidian says Deadfire’s controller scheme builds on the console editions, while its turn-based combat has been reworked with improvements made for the first Pillars of Eternity’s newer turn-based mode.
The confirmed Deadfire changes are mechanical, not cosmetic. According to Obsidian’s announcement, turns now follow each character’s speed, combat is more lethal, and swapping weapons or drinking potions no longer costs a character’s action. The update also lets players switch Turn-Based Mode on or off during a playthrough. That last point is especially relevant in Deadfire, where a party’s rhythm can change dramatically depending on whether a player is resolving fights through pausable real-time tactics or discrete turns.
For build-minded players, the speed change is the one to watch. Obsidian’s public wording does not provide a full formula or encounter-by-encounter rebalance in the source material here, so it would be premature to judge the new meta. Still, if turn order now follows character speed, then attributes, equipment, and abilities that affect action cadence may feel different than they did in Deadfire’s previous turn-based implementation. Players who built parties around the old timing assumptions should treat the beta as a systems test, not a guaranteed final ruleset.
PC is catching up to console-style play, with Steam Deck in view
RPG Site notes that both Pillars games were already available on console, while the PC versions had not previously received controller support. The platform history is uneven: RPG Site lists Pillars of Eternity on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, while Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is listed on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Obsidian’s new public test is aimed at the PC versions, bringing that input option back to the platform where these games originally found much of their audience.
Steam Deck is an obvious beneficiary. GamingOnLinux argues the beta should make both games nicer on Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and other handhelds, while Obsidian’s own notes specifically include Steam Deck and Steam Big Picture mode among supported controller environments. For an isometric party RPG, handheld viability is rarely about raw horsepower alone. It is about whether the inventory, character sheet, dialogue selection, combat targeting, and text entry can survive without a desk setup.
The sources do not provide performance claims, battery-life guidance, verified Steam Deck status, or a final release date. What is confirmed is narrower and more concrete: Steam users can opt into a public beta, the gamepad interface is designed to cover the entire play path, and Obsidian is still taking feedback before full release.
How to opt in, and why the beta label matters
Obsidian’s public instructions, quoted by RPG Site, say Steam players can access the test by right-clicking Pillars of Eternity or Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire in their Steam Library, opening Properties, selecting the Betas tab, choosing “public_beta” from the drop-down, and closing the window. A download should then be ready, and launching the game should automatically trigger it. Obsidian says players who do not see the update should restart the Steam client.
The access route appears to be separate for each game. GamingOnLinux says players can opt into the beta for each title on Steam, which is important if you intend to test Pillars of Eternity controller support in the first game and Pillars of Eternity 2 controller support in Deadfire rather than assuming one shared setting covers both.
The warning is equally plain. Obsidian says this is a public test and players should expect bugs. The studio has not announced a concrete end date, and Rock Paper Shotgun reports that the test will run while the update is prepared for full release. GamingOnLinux says the updates are “set to hopefully release for everyone before the year is up,” but that is presented as expectation rather than a dated commitment from Obsidian in the provided source material.
Who should try it now, and who should wait
If you are starting a new run on Steam Deck, playing from a couch, or revisiting Eora after the first game’s tenth-anniversary turn-based update, the beta has a clear appeal. The confirmed feature list covers the parts of these games that usually break controller comfort: creation, exploration, conversations, inventory, party commands, mode-specific combat, and text entry. For Deadfire, the inclusion of naval combat means the sequel’s ship layer is part of the controller plan rather than an exception.
If you are deep into a completionist save, the decision is less automatic. The update includes a long list of fixes across combat, quests, audio, and interface according to Obsidian’s announcement, and the first game’s notes cited by GamingOnLinux include specific turn-based fixes such as spells entering the turn order correctly before the caster’s first turn after casting, DR Bypass applying to the attack that starts a battle, and a Barbarian issue involving Blood Thirst and Carnage being addressed. Fixes are welcome, but beta builds can also introduce new problems, and Obsidian is explicitly asking for feedback while the test continues.
For most players, the practical guidance is simple: opt in if controller play is the reason you would return to these RPGs now, or if you want to help Obsidian harden the update before release. Wait for the full build if your priority is the safest possible route through long quest chains, endgame encounters, or a carefully planned party progression path. The promise is substantial, especially for handheld and living-room PC play, but the public test label is still part of the story.