Avowed was originally going to have multiplayer components, similar to that of Destiny where players could walk around in a massive world.
In an interview with Bloomberg, director Carrie Patel said that Obsidian Entertainment pitched Avowed as a cross between Destiny and Skyrim to prospective buyers, which ended with Microsoft purchasing the studio. Avowed’s development started in 2018 but went through two reboots, which led Obsidian to scrap its multiplayer component.
The second reboot occurred in January 2021, when Obsidian replaced Avowed’s leadership as they were about to enter production. Patel initiated two major pivots to Avowed, the first of which was to focus on its story and lore from the Pillars of Eternity universe. The second was to replace Avowed’s original open world with open-zone ones, similar to that of Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds. The latter decision was made so that the development team could create more distinct and denser spaces.
As a result, the development team had to scale back in creating large and sprawling maps like Skyrim. “We knew from The Outer Worlds that we could build a really great game with ‘open zones’ and that also adds some advantages in terms of letting you really theme your areas more distinctly and intentionally, and provide a sense of progression as the player’s going from one environment to the next,” Patel explained.
Patel also said that the team is happy with Avowed’s sales numbers so far. Although Patel wouldn’t reveal what her team’s next project is, we do know that Obsidian Entertainment is currently working on The Outer Worlds 2. Initially announced in 2021, Obsidian released its first gameplay trailer at The Game Awards 2024. The game is set for release sometime this year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Avowed is now available on PC and Xbox Series X|S, as well as Game Pass. In GameSpot’s Avowed review, we said, “Avowed’s impactful and satisfying combat is undone by a widely unbalanced upgrade system and an uninteresting story that wastes its potential.”