Avowed Was Originally Obsidian’s Skyrim, Now Focuses on “More Confined Stories,” Says Studio’s CEO

Among the many titles that received updates at the Xbox Games Showcase was Avowed, Obsidian Entertainment’s first-person fantasy RPG. Announced in 2020 and set in the world of Pillars of Eternity, the recent look showcased combat and the various environments players would traverse. While it looked intriguing, the scale wasn’t “much larger than Skyrim,” as previous reports indicated.

That’s because Obsidian decided to go with a different approach. Speaking to PC Gamer, CEO Feargus Urquhart said, “Originally we were pitching, in essence, our Skyrim. I think over 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 make our awesome RPGs, right? That’s when we backed up and said again: What are we good at? What’s our lane?”

The answer, for Urquhart, is story-telling. “Outer Worlds is the greatest, latest example of that, and even Pillars. Pillars is less linear than Outer Worlds, but it’s still a game that has you go through a story. And [Pillars of Eternity] 2 was even less linear, but still, again, you have this core story as you’re going.”

Instead of scope, Avowed is now about your companions and their impact on the core story. One of those companions is Kai, who also narrated the recent trailer and plays a “major” role.

“We could go off and create an 8km x 8km open world and then deal with all the consequences – 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, as I said, in the end, that’s us,” said Urquhart.

This change reportedly led to reboots and leadership changes. Neither Urquhart nor director Carrie Patel confirmed if that officially happened, but the latter said, “Every game development process for every title is this chain of ideation, iteration and polish.

“Sometimes you realize the way you’re building is not quite living up to the experience you want to create. And so, in iteration and refinement, you say, ‘Well, how do we create the experience that we want to deliver to players, particularly as a studio? How do we deliver on what we’re really good at specifically?’

“I think where Obsidian shines as an RPG maker is with this really evocative nuanced world building, stories that are more focused on depth and breadth, and really thoughtful quest design that rewards experimentation and exploration from players – that gives them a sense of agency. And that gives them a meaningful set of options for how they interact with the world and characters.

“As we looked at the Avowed we’re building, we wanted to make sure that we were really fulfilling those strengths and creating something that felt like a true Obsidian RPG.”

Avowed launches in 2024 for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Even though the scope and scale are nowhere near Skyrim’s, it still features similar combat, with swords, shields and magic, while adding firearms. Players can even dual-wield for more tactical options. There will be more details closer to the launch, so stay tuned.