Obsidian Entertainment is on the cusp of launching Avowed, its major open zone action-RPG that expands the universe of Pillars of Eternity. There’s so many questions about this upcoming game, and how Obsidian’s unique storytelling flair will shine through – and that’s what we’re here to discuss.
So far, the game’s development team has revealed much about what to expect of this game, showing off glimpses at fantasy combat, wild enemies, and choice-based exploration, while also discussing story elements, and how the game will tie into Obsidian’s past. It’s all a bit exciting, and it makes Avowed one of our most anticipated games of early 2025.
Here’s everything we know about Avowed so far.
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Avowed: Release date and platforms
Avowed is currently set to release on 18 February 2025.
It’ll be available on Xbox Series X and Series S, as well as Windows PC. You’ll be able to purchase it standalone, and/or access it via the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
What’s the story in Avowed?
Avowed will follow a custom character named “The Envoy” as they travel to a region known as The Living Lands”, under the orders of the Elf-Human Aedyr Empire. This Empire has designs on the Living Lands, with a view to colonise its people and establish a new order – but in the course of discovery, players realise the Living Lands have been corrupted by a Dream Scourge which infects the land, and all living things.
Read: Bioluminescence, blocking and walking the walk: A chat with Avowed’s Ryan Warden
Allies infected by the Dream Scourge shoot down the player-character’s ship on the way into the Living Lands, and so you must scramble to survive in a hostile new world, with your safety all but gone.
Player characters will be known as “godlike” beings in the adventure. This isn’t what it sounds – it means they’ve been “touched by the divine” (per Engadget) and have a unique link to the Dream Scourge fungus that spreads throughout the Living Lands. This status makes most characters suspicious of the player-character, as it marks them out as different.
The Living Lands is an “open zone” setting
While Avowed has been discussed as an open world game, early previews made clear it’s more about “open zones” – large, explorable areas that are siloed. Speaking to GameSpot, region director Berto Ritger described these areas as “expansive” and with “a lot of breadth to them” but the team aimed to keep them manageable enough to hand-craft each aspect.
At first, players will be guided through these zones with a strong handhold, and then they will be free to explore at their own pace, discovering new things in every nook and cranny.
What to know about character customisation
As with most immersive RPGs, Avowed will let you fully customise your player character, down to their backstory and combat style. You’ll pick from an array of backgrounds to begin your creation, with these determining your starting weapons and skills.
Players will be able to build up fighting skills in a range of classes – fighter, ranger, wizard, and so on. There’s also a “godlike” level tree, and a tree for levelling up companions.
For customisation of appearance, players will also have a range of options available – although based on written previews, there’s nothing too different about this character creator, beyond that it lets you determine where your “godlike” face fungus grows.
Do you need to play Pillars of Eternity before you play Avowed?
Avowed is set in the world of Eora, which also features in Pillars of Eternity. But Obsidian Entertainment has made clear you don’t need to play Pillars of Eternity before you tackle Avowed. This game will lay all the narrative foundations needed to understand the world of Eora, and new players won’t be left dangling.
“We want [Avowed] to take the spirit and the colour and the chaos that [Pillars of Eternity] promised and build a really interesting experience out of it,” game director Carrie Patel told GamesHub of the inspirations behind Avowed.
That said, Pillars of Eternity is a brilliant RPG experience, and if you dig Avowed, you should definitely make time to revisit the franchise that gave it birth. It’s certainly a game for anyone who enjoyed Baldur’s Gate 3 recently, or Divinity: Original Sin and the like.
Read: How Avowed builds on Obsidian Entertainment’s legacy – Interview
For those who do want to know more about the lore of this franchise, it’ll be available in discoverable books and items: “All of the lore drops that you’ve seen in the various books and examinables, that’s all supplemental information, and I think a really good example is the journal,” production director Ryan Warden recently told GamesHub. “If you want to read that, by all means, go for it – I think that it adds a lot of flavour to the actual quest.”
What to expect from Avowed‘s combat
While the Avowed team has tried to lean away from comparisons to Skyrim, many of the game’s early previews relate it directly to this adventure – particularly in its approach to combat.
“Yes, it feels like Elder Scrolls at baseline, but it’s very much better,” Forbes said of its time with the game. “Weapons feel meaty, smashing and bashing through ragdolling enemies in a way that feels more substantive than we usually see in this genre.”
Players are able to take a range of weapons into combat, with swords, shields, bows, maces, and wands freely available. Based on feedback from previews, the wands appear to be the most-loved weapon so far, with these allowing players to unleash rapid-fire mid-range spells that deal high damage to enemies. Based on shared conclusions, it appears combat is a major strength of the game, and enhances its sense of adventuring.
“For combat, we tried to focus on flexibility, to empower the player with a lot of choice,” gameplay director Gabe Paramo recently told GamesHub. “We have a dual wielding system, the ability to put weapons in your off-hand and your primary hand … Avowed is a classless game, so you’re not committed to a class at the start of the game. You’re able to take abilities that are from Pillars, classes that people might be familiar with, but [you’re] able to configure [your] character in the way [you] want.”
How choice plays a role in Avowed
As with other Obsidian Entertainment RPGs, choice will be key to your adventure. As you take on quests, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of options for completion, with dialogue and exploration mechanics supporting many alternative pathways.
That choice extends to side quests and main quests, with all of your choices feeding into the overarching narrative. Per region director Berto Ritger, speaking to GameSpot, “Side quests very much, especially the larger ones, will impact your main story and vice versa. Companions will react to those things in real time. Those choices will also heavily impact individual characters, groups of characters, and entire settlements, factions of people, and the states of the regions that you go through.”
So to sum up: choose carefully.
“[To effectively integrate choice], it comes down to a few things,” Carrie Patel told GamesHub. “There’s understanding the different domino effects, and [how] particular spots in the content are guaranteed – these particular moments are on the ‘crit’ path, and the player will have to move through them at some point.”
“You can find the little points … that point to, or foreshow, or that seem like they might have an impact on those decisions that you’re going to come across later … One thing we’ve definitely had success with is looking for those connections, seeing where the natural inflection points [are] between the content that we’re creating… and I think there’s also something to be said for framing these key moments in the crit path around the player, and leaving the interpretation up to them.”
In the coming weeks, we’re likely to hear much more about Avowed – so it’s best to stay tuned for more details. Currently, the game is set to launch for Xbox Series X/S and PC on 18 February 2025.
