Avowed is Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming first-person fantasy RPG, coming to PC and the Xbox Series X. While the PS5 has many returning exclusive series like the God of War Ragnarok sequel or the remake of Demon’s Souls, the Xbox Series X is partially banking on new IPs as part of its appeal, with a longer endgame than the PS5.
Avowed may be one of Obsidian’s biggest tests to date. The game is ambitious in its own right, but will also be expected to pull its weight against some well-known franchises to help Microsoft succeed on the new generation of consoles.
Avowed is an ambitious game for a few reasons. The game will take place in the fantasy world of Eora from Obsidian’s two Pillars of Eternity games, in the northern frontier of the Living Lands. That area is rumored to be far larger in-game than Skyrim’s map, with a huge amount of biodiversity between its different mountains and valleys. Skyrim’s world map is around 15 square miles in size, which could be tough for Obsidian to top while making sure the game feels dense and lived in.
It’s also been claimed that Avowed will contain smart, reactive AI and dynamic weather conditions. If these features are pursued to their full potential, this could mean some survival aspects included in the game as well as a dynamic game world where some of the factions of the Living Lands. This would fit with the descriptions of the Living Lands seen in previous games, as a “lawless land where communities band together, fall apart, and fight petty wars with each other constantly.”
Avowed’s playable races have yet to be confirmed, but if they are the same as Pillars of Eternity, they could also face Obsidian with some big challenges. It’s unclear how Obsidian would handle the stark physical differences like height that exist between the races of Pillars of Eternity in a first-person game, but without different playable races, the game also risks being less appealing to players who want flexible roleplaying experiences and the game to have strong replay value. Avowed’s challenges are not just technical, however.
Microsoft has been buying up game developers left and right in what many see as a likely attempt to compete with equally coveted exclusives with Sony. So far, it appears Microsoft is buying many companies known for their strong RPGs, with Bethesda purchased as part of the acquisition of Zenimax Media Inc. Obsidian has been owned by Microsoft since 2018, but by bringing the two RPG developers under one roof, Microsoft appears to be trying to corner the RPG market on the next-gen.
This puts a lot of pressure on Avowed to increase sales for the Xbox Series X, which is already projected to sell less than the PS5 by the end of the holiday season of this year. Not only that, but Avowed will need to be unique enough to avoid solely being compared to The Elder Scrolls, the dominant first-person fantasy RPG franchise. With The Elder Scrolls another possible Xbox exclusive or timed exclusive, Avowed may have to compete against the PS5 and against in-genre competition on the Xbox itself.
Fans hoping for more news about Avowed should look to the Game Awards 2020. The new Xbox was announced at the awards last year, and Microsoft will likely return this year with some news about its console exclusives like Avowed in an attempt to win over RPG fans as they decide which console to go with for the next generation of gaming.
Avowed is in development for PC and Xbox Series X.
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