Pillars of Eternity 2 director Josh Sawyer has an enviable list of credits to his name, from Icewind Dale to Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, and Tyranny. But after two decades in the business, Sawyer said in a blog post that he's going to take a little time off.
"I’ve said it in a few streams, I think. I’m now in my 19th year in the industry and I’ve been working on Pillars 1 & 2 for about 6 years," he wrote. "I’m going to be on Deadfire (not the DLCs) until we’re done patching and improving it, but after that I’m taking a break from directing for a while."
"I’ve worked on a lot of party-based fantasy [real time with pause] games. I’d like to shift focus for my next project, but I need to work on something else, not as a director, before that."
Sawyer has worked as a designer throughout his career but the move to the director's chair is relatively recent, according to Mobygames, which lists him as a director on Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, and Fallout: New Vegas – Honest Hearts. He didn't indicate what he'd like to get into after Pillars of Eternity 2 is wrapped up, but it doesn't sound like he's looking to break away from games entirely, as for instance BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk did when he traded in his mouse and keyboard for beer (making me forever envious, by the way.) Instead, his desire to make games appears intact, and it's just the hassles of directing he wants to get away from. For RPG fans, that's good news.
