Avowed Could Usher in a New Golden Age for Obsidian

Summary

Avowed is the next big RPG from The Outer Worlds developer, Obsidian Entertainment.
If Avowed is successful, it could draw more attention to Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity series.
A successful launch of Avowed might also build more anticipation for The Outer Worlds 2.

Obsidian Entertainment's upcoming fantasy RPG Avowed has proven it has a decent amount of anticipation behind it with how many onlooking fans have contributed feedback for its developer, Obsidian Entertainment, to scour over and consider. At the same time, it is a brand-new experience — despite being firmly rooted in the Pillars of Eternity series — so Obsidian has chosen to delay Avowed in favor of players' backlogs so that they might not let the RPG be swept under the rug so easily.

In the end, Obsidian's attempts to improve Avowed and protect it from any noteworthy competition could very well pay off. Should Avowed achieve an immense level of success, it could renew interest in Obsidian's previous work and trigger a revival of sorts for the developer, paving a new path for it to tread as it continues moving forward.

Avowed Hands-On Preview: A Feast for Lore Fans

The Best War Games plays an hour of Obsidian's Avowed and comes away excited by everything it does with established Pillars of Eternity lore.

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By Joshua Duckworth

Avowed's Success Could Shine a Spotlight on Obsidian as a Whole

Barring Avowed's Success, Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity Series Could Get More Attention

Should Avowed achieve a level of success that goes above and beyond even Obsidian's projections, it could shine a spotlight on another of the developer's golden gems, Pillars of Eternity. From a gameplay standpoint, the Pillars of Eternity series is a bit different from Avowed, with Pillars of Eternity being played from an isometric perspective and Avowed being played from a first-person perspective. That being said, the overall mechanics of Avowed and Pillars of Eternity's combat and companion systems are fairly similar, considering they are both set in the same universe.

With the recent critical success of Baldur's Gate 3 and the increasing popularity of isometric RPGs in general, Avowed could attract more players to Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity series. Pillars of Eternity may see a spike in popularity as the release date for Avowed draws nearer, but that could be even more pronounced following the release of Avowed, especially if it achieves a standout reception. According to Obsidian, Pillars of Eternity isn't "required reading" for Avowed, but some players might wish to spend more time in Eora after their Avowed credits roll.

This is just one of the ways a successful launch for Avowed could positively impact Obsidian Entertainment as a whole.

Avowed's Success Could Increase Hype for The Outer Worlds 2

One of Obsidian's more recent releases, The Outer Worlds, was highly anticipated ahead of its launch due to the developer's massive success with Fallout: New Vegas. For the most part, The Outer Worlds performed admirably, especially with it being a new IP. However, it failed to live up to the hype, likely due to unrealistic expectations that it would be another Fallout: New Vegas experience. Some critics noted The Outer Worlds' combat as being too simple and lacking depth, while others felt any marks left by the narrative were easily forgettable.

On June 13, 2021, Obsidian announced The Outer Worlds 2 at Xbox and Bethesda's joint E3 presentation, immediately capturing the attention of fans of the first game. Since then, not much has been revealed about it, but hopes are high that it will outperform its predecessor. If Avowed is successful enough, it would likely build even more anticipation for The Outer Worlds 2. Either way, a brighter spotlight would be shone on Obsidian Entertainment, paving a new road for the developer's future.

It's unclear where Avowed might take Obsidian after its February 2025 launch, but early previews of the game are promising, as well as the confirmation that the developer has been hard at work improving Avowed according to feedback from the community. Surely, unless Avowed utterly fails, it will stir at least some renewed interest in Obsidian's past work, as well as its upcoming sequel to The Outer Worlds.

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