Obsidian Announces New First-Person RPG Avowed

Last Updated: July 27, 2020

At Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase, RPG developer Obsidian Entertainment showcased a few upcoming titles, including a newly-announced first-person RPG called Avowed for the Xbox Series X and PC.

While Avowed is a new epic fantasy RPG, it takes place in the world of Eora, the setting of the Pillars of Eternity series. Pillars of Eternity is an isometric RPG in the style of older classics such as Baldur’s Gate. Its success led to a sequel, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Both games featured a real-time with pause combat system (also known as “active pause” or “pausable real-time”) like the older isometric RPGs they followed, although Pillars of Eternity II featured a turn-based combat option as well.

Both games saw a relatively good reception, but that didn’t necessarily translate to sales. Design director Josh Sawyer reported that the low sales for Pillars of Eternity II meant they would need to “re-examine the entire format” if they ever made a Pillars of Eternity III. This might be why we’re seeing a new style of RPG set in the same universe.

Few details are known about Avowed at this point. It’s a first-person RPG, most likely with an action combat system. However, no combat is shown in the short teaser trailer. Its nature as a first-person fantasy RPG has drawn several comparisons to Skyrim and the rest of the Elder Scrolls series, but we don’t know yet if Avowed will be open world or not. The official website has been opened, but only shows the trailer and platforms so far.

Avowed will be available for the Xbox Series X and Windows 10 PCs, and it has already been announced for Xbox Game Pass. More details about the game are on the way.