Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is chugging full steam ahead to Early Access and it will be here before we know it. Keep up with the incoming updates and check in on vital dates with this Road to Early Access graphic. 
Hope they announce the EA date and also the price soon. I'm also curious what the monthly sub price is going to be after EA. When I saw the roadmap I expected these details to be included. Maybe the don't know the exact release date yet.
I agree and don't think they will switch the engine anytime soon. Even if it's easy (I'm guessing it won't be) it would take time they could be using to make progress on the game. Maybe after they launch the game for real they will look into upgrading to a newer version of the engine.