Obsidian Entertainment first unveiled Avowed with a mysterious CGI trailer back in the 2020 Xbox Games Showcase, and the immediate ensuing comparisons to Bethesda’s iconic The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim were swift and plentiful.
The similarities of the first-person perspective, dark medieval setting, and magic-based combat mechanics fueled a lot of speculation over the scope of Obsidian’s highly anticipated project, and a 2023 interview with studio CEO Feargus Urquhart tells us exactly what to expect from Avowed, which is slated to release this year.
Even Obsidian Wanted Avowed To Be Its Skyrim
Speaking with PC Gamer, Urquhart confirmed the initial inspiration for Avowed. “Originally we were pitching, in essence, our Skyrim,” commented Urquhart. This revelation barely came as a surprise, owing to the visual similarities in the trailer, suggesting a huge open world and first-person combat. However, the interview took a fascinating turn as Urquhart elaborated on the development process.
Urquhart acknowledged the strengths of other studios like Bethesda and Mojang, but emphasized Obsidian’s unique position in the RPG genre:
I think over the course of time as we worked on it… Bethesda makes an awesome Skyrim. Mojang makes an awesome Minecraft, and Turn10 makes awesome racing games. What we do is we make our awesome RPGs, right?
In the past, Obsidian delivered RPGs with a narrative-driven focus, like Pentiment and Pillars of Eternity. This led the team to rethink their approach to Avowed, and as development progressed, they opted to concentrate on their established strengths in storytelling and character interaction.
Obsidian Looked To Its Past To Embolden Its Future
The shift in developmental focus had significant implications for the final product. While the initial concept resembled Skyrim‘s vast open world, Avowed would now be envisioned as a more focused experience. Urquhart hinted at a smaller scale world, allowing the development team to invest more resources in developing a more compelling narrative with impactful characters.
“We could go off and create an 8km x 8km open world and then deal with all the consequences of that – because that makes it a different style game. But we want to tell more confined stories that the player can experience with their companions, and then move from part of the world to part of the world. And, like I said, in the end, that’s us,” explained Urquhart.
He also brought up the success of Obsidian’s previous titles, Outer Worlds and Pillars of Eternity, as testaments to their expertise in this area. While these RPGs do offer a significant amount of exploration and player agency, they prioritize an overarching story with rich character interactions over everything else.
The emphasis on storytelling aligns with the studio’s past successes and suggests a distinct identity for Avowed within the RPG genre. The smaller world design, if executed effectively, could translate into a more densely packed world brimming with meaningful interactions and memorable characters.
Avowed was most recently shown off at Xbox’s 2024 Developer_Direct in January, where Obsidian reiterated its focus on delivering a well-written story that will apparently put forth difficult decisions in front of players. For RPG fans who value narrative-driven adventures, Avowed is shaping up to be a must-play, and we’re certainly excited to learn more in the coming weeks.
Avowed is slated for release in late 2024.
