Highlights

  • Avowed marks Obsidian Entertainment's first foray into the first-person perspective with its own original IP, potentially paving the way for new Pillars of Eternity titles in the same style.
  • Avowed builds itself on the lore of the Pillars of Eternity series, which are crucial games in Obsidian's history as a developer.
  • A successful launch for Avowed could lead to a series of follow-ups, exploring the diverse territories of Eora and expanding the Pillars of Eternity franchise.

The latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, Avowed is set to release later this year and bring players back into the world of Eora. While notable titles from the studio like The Outer Worlds and Fallout: New Vegas have utilized the first-person person perspective in the past, taking this approach with Avowed marks the first time Obsidian has done so with its own original IP. Considering the game’s place in a greater pre-existing lore, and the developer’s status under a company of Microsoft’s scale, there could be a future where Avowed paves the way for new Pillars of Eternity titles in the same style.

While the darker tone of its first trailer led many to compare Avowed to Bethesda’s influential Skyrim, Obsidian’s originality has become more prominent over time. A recent showcase highlighted the possibility that Avowed’s combat is improving on Skyrim’s formula by featuring more engaging mechanics, and the game’s more linear narrative approach sets it apart even further. The origin of Avowed lies in the two Pillars of Eternity games that Obsidian previously made following the success of a crowdfunding campaign, and its own success could mean more for the franchise than it was ever anticipated to achieve.

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While fans are still waiting to see what experience Avowed will bring, the franchise already has the perfect blueprint to carry the series forward.

The Rich World Obsidian Entertainment Established in Pillars of Eternity

Avowed is Just Scratching the Surface of Eora

The diverse and undocumented territories of The Living Lands of Avowed seem set to be an impressive display of fantasy worldbuilding, but this is still just one continent in the world of Eora. Players of the Pillars games are familiar with places like Aedyr and the Deadfire Archipelago established in the CRPG experiences. There’s likely a lot of lore to be revealed throughout Avowed, but the rest of Eora presents locations for an entire series of follow-ups.

The Furthest Obsidian Entertainment Has Taken an Original Fantasy IP

As the developer’s success has become more consistent in recent years, the days of financial troubles that led Obsidian to become supported by fans on the first Pillars of Eternity's iconic Kickstarter campaign seem far behind the studio. Not only did the developer choose to bypass the typical process associated with acquiring funding for a project, it also did this for a game in a genre as niche as CRPGs. The decision to move forward with the franchise seemed to have questionable viability at one point, but the studio’s change in ownership may have changed everything.

Avowed is an Opportunity for Pillars of Eternity Under Microsoft

Avowed's Success Could Extend the Pillars of Eternity Franchise

Following Avowed's release in late 2024, there’s no telling what impact it could have on the future of Obsidian. The developer suffered from harsh deadlines and restricted development cycles in its earlier days, but this project has apparently been in production since 2020. After fleshing out a new section of Eora with its immersive first-person perspective, there’s a solid possibility that Avowed could lead to more games that provide the same treatment to other regions of the world. There’s no telling how long these potential sequels could take to create, but the level of depth and detail that's supposedly present in Avowed would ideally only be improved upon in new Pillars games.

Returning to an Isometric Perspective Isn’t Out of the Question

The reception to the modern-day CRPG style of Pillars hasn’t always been as warm as that of the more accessible first-person experiences that Obsidian has become known for, but the genre and series still have dedicated fans that could benefit from the success of Avowed. The recent success of Baldur's Gate 3 may point to a broadening market for the genre too. Though games in Eora featuring a first-person view would likely make Pillars more popular than ever, there’s always room for another CRPG to exist concurrently and continue to develop the universe.