Icewind Dale II is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment, released on August 27, 2002. Like its 2000 predecessor Icewind Dale, the game is set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting in the Icewind Dale region. The player assumes control of a group of mercenaries in a war between the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale and a coalition of persecuted races and religions. The game is designed as an action-oriented alternative to other Infinity Engine games, with less emphasis on exploration and story. It uses a real-time adaptation of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Third Edition ruleset. The Infinity Engine was extensively modified to comply with the Third Edition, but the team was forced to remove certain rules because of the engine's outdated nature. It was the final game to be developed using the Infinity Engine.