Obsidian Entertainment has clarified that Avowed will be more comparable in size to The Outer Worlds than to The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Ever since Avowed was first announced as part of the Xbox Series X/S showcase event in 2020, expectations have been set for a Skyrim-sized RPG. That may have been Obsidian's original plan, but development appears to have taken the developer in a different direction. It's unclear exactly how those looking forward to Avowed will react to that change yet.
Avowed was revealed in July 2020 with a trailer that shocked the Xbox fanbase. The trailer revealed landscapes featuring massive mountains and plains, towering castles and statues, and deep and dark caverns filled with ruins. The imagery alluded to the Mines of Moria in The Lord of the Rings, replete with what could have been a fiery Balrog at the end. The scale of the project enraptured Xbox fans. But then Avowed disappeared from the public eye for three years.
The Avowed shown during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 was remarkably different from the initial pitch made in 2020. The difference in scale stands out perhaps the most. While some might disagree, Obsidian Entertainment isn't denying the change. Obsidian is explicitly stating that the scale of Avowed isn't what it was in its initial pitch. According to PC Gamer, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart says Avowed is now more similar to past studio RPGs like The Outer Worlds than it is to Skyrim.
Urquhart says that the initial plan for Avowed was for Obsidian to make its own version of Skyrim. Obviously, that doesn't mean making a game exactly like Skyrim, but rather a big open-world epic fantasy experience with first-person sword-swinging and magic. That's what the Avowed announcement trailer appeared to promise. Urquhart says that over time, as development progressed, plans changed. Obsidian decided that it has to make its own style of RPGs.
What that means isn't entirely clear yet. Little about Avowed has been revealed. For now, Obsidian says it means that its priority is storytelling. Avowed will be "more focused on depth than breadth." Early screenshots convey how that translates into gameplay. Avowed won't feature sprawling open-world environments like Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption 2, and will instead be much more compact. It does look a lot like fantasy The Outer Worlds, though.
For the time being, there isn't much controversy growing around the significant shift in direction for Avowed. Avowed may not be Skyrim, but there are still a lot of Obsidian fans who hope it will be like Fallout: New Vegas. At the very least, it will be akin to The Outer Worlds, for better or worse.
Avowed releases in 2024 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: PC Gamer