Everything we know about Avowed, the new Obsidian RPG for Xbox Series X

Avowed is the new RPG from Obsidian, creators of Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds and countless other iconic franchises. Avowed made its debut at Microsoft’s combined Xbox and Bethesda E3 showcase in 2021 and made a huge splash.

Avowed will be set in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity, and the return to Eora is reason enough to be excited. Especially when you factor in Avowed’s knowledge of Obsidian’s take on The Elder Scrolls, a sword and shield RPG with real-time combat, magic, and an expanding world to explore. While Avowed is one of those Xbox-exclusive titles missing from the action at E3 2022, there’s still plenty of information to get you hooked.

Let’s get started – here’s everything you need to know about Avowed

What is Avowed?

Avowed is a new IP from Obsidian that was announced during the July 2021 Xbox Games Showcase. It looks like a Skyrim-like first-person RPG with rune-based magic powers and sword combat, as confirmed by the brief teaser trailer. It takes place in the land of Eora, the same setting that Obsidian used for the RPG Pillars of Eternity.

Job postings in September 2019 (opens in new tab)For Obsidian’s next AAA project, he talked about “branching dialogue” and “day/night cycles” as well as “combat actions using both first- and third-person animations.” This puts the game on par with Obsidian’s older RPGs like The Outer Worlds and Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords.

Announced release date and platforms

We haven’t heard of a potential release date for Avowed yet – we think it’s under heavy development right now, which means a release date may be a long way off. Microsoft acquired Obsidian Entertainment in 2018, so this game will almost certainly be exclusive to Xbox, available on Xbox Series X and PC. The game does not list Xbox One as one of its platforms on the game’s store page, which lets us know that this game will not be a cross-gen game. Avowed, like other first-party games from Microsoft going forward, will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

Avowed trailer – What can we learn?

The first Avowed trailer, shown at the latest Xbox event, introduces us to a diverse medieval landscape, starting with a war-torn castle owned by an empire of queens and kings who “always knew the war.” According to the narrative, this empire has now fallen into a state of disrepair, has lost its oaths, and has led to the emergence of an unseen enemy power.

The game’s evil monsters (skeletons confirmed!) are apparently born from the sins of this empire, and the player character will face them throughout the game. The question that remains at the end of the trailer – “Is a vow worth the weight of a crown?” – suggests that the player’s destiny may be copyrighted and they may have to face and question their destiny as they rebuild the fallen empire.

Described setting

One of the details we know about Avowed is that it takes place in the fantasy world of Eora, the world where Pillars of Eternity was set. Pillars of Eternity is another RPG series from Obsidian, albeit a more traditional isometric party-based game billed as the spiritual successor to games like Baldur’s Gate and the Planescape series.

Pillars of Eternity received a sequel in 2018 that further builds on Eora’s lore in Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. If you’re excited about Avowed, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check out the franchise so you can immerse yourself in the lore of this fantasy world.

Detectives on Reddit found some little information that gives us a better idea of ​​the premise behind Avowed. According to this article (opens in new tab)The flag seen in the Avowed trailer relates to Woedica, a deity also known as the “Oath Binder,” who shaped Eora but was killed by the other gods who conspired against her because she was too powerful.

Woedica is one of the beliefs held by the Aedyr Empire, a nation in the world of Eora that could be the setting for the game. Woedica’s story lines up with the trailer’s narrative, where the protagonist faces the fate of broken vows, a fallen empire, and a potential kingdom.

Interestingly, the translated Aedyran runes “Oath Binder” spit on the sword seen in the trailer. this Reddit post (opens in new tab).

The fact that the combat is sword and magic based suggests that Pillars of Eternity could be a medieval prequel, featuring more renaissance combat modes like flintlock pistols and crossbows.

Assertive rumors

While details about Obsidian and Microsoft’s Avowed are scarce, there was an interesting leak on ResetEra in late July that caught interest.

User Sponger has made a number of bold claims about Avowed, which we will summarize below. Just be sure to take this with a pinch of salt because without verification these claims are unfounded. Regardless, good food for thought!

According to Sponger, (opens in new tab) The game will be fully open world and “much bigger than Skyrim”. The leaker says the game will be set in The Living Lands of Eora and will feature mod support as well as a real-time weather system.

Players will apparently be able to become companions, fight “huge” bosses, and deal with gods while battling the “incoming threat of tyranny” that frames the narrative. Dialogue will also be supposedly dynamic, and the leaker claims that Obsidian plans to provide players with the ability to “kill everyone in the game”.

Sponger claims that as of July 2020, the game has been in development for two years and seven months, with “around 100 people” working on it to grow. The final claim is that the developers are targeting late 2022 – early 2023 as a potential release window for the game. Again, none of this should be taken at face value – we can’t confirm or deny these leaks, and Obsidian hasn’t disclosed enough about Avowed to confirm any of these claims.