Highlights
- Avowed , the upcoming game from Obsidian Entertainment, is set in the same universe as the Pillars of Eternity franchise, raising questions about how it will address the ending of P illars of Eternity 2: Deadfire .
- The ending of Pillars of Eternity 2 involved the main character pursuing a resurrected god who sought to destroy the device that enables the cycle of life and rebirth in the world. Avowed will need to address the consequences of this world-altering event.
- The latest gameplay trailer for Avowed hints at a soul disease spreading in the Living Lands, which could potentially be connected to the events of Pillars of Eternity.
Way back in 2015, Obsidian Entertainment released the first game in the Avowed universe titled Pillars of Eternity which was funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign. Two years later, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire was also successfully funded through a Kickstarter before being released in 2018. Now the developer is bringing that world to the AAA gaming space with Avowed which raises a few questions.
Avowed was officially announced in 2020, and at first, it appeared to be the developer's answer to Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls franchise. It was eventually revealed to be part of the Pillars of Eternity franchise and not the original IP some may have thought it was. With this setting established, however, Avowed is going to have to address the elephant in the room that is Pillars of Eternity 2's ending.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire’s Wild Ending
The sequel to the 2015 CRPG was a very bizarre game. Pillars of Eternity 2 was full of fun companion characters and had a Fallout: New Vegas-style faction system that allowed multiple endings. The primary narrative, however, involved The Watcher from the first game pursuing a resurrected God, Eothas, in order to discover just what it was he was up to. As it turned out, the answer was a bit wild.
In the world of Pillars of Eternity, the cycle of life revolves around death and resurrection. Souls will eventually find their way into new bodies and be reborn. One of the big twists in the franchise is the device that enables this cycle was actually man-made, as were the gods of the world. It turned out that Eothas' goal was to destroy this device in order to force the people of the world and the gods to cooperate to discover a new way to live in harmony. What isn't clear at this point is how Avowed is going to address this rather huge, world-altering event.
How Avowed Might Address Pillars of Eternity 2’s Ending
As of now, it's unclear when Avowed takes place in the Pillars of Eternity world. It could very well be that the game will take place before or during the events of the second game, which would make the ending a non-issue. However, the answer to this question could very well be within one of the trailers.
The latest gameplay trailer for Avowed revealed the primary plot for the upcoming game. It showed that there was some kind of disease of the soul was spreading through a region known as the Living Lands. Currently, it isn't clear where this disease is coming from or how the player is expected to stop it.
However, it could be that the disease was caused by Eothas' actions in the previous Pillars of Eternity game. While there is very little evidence of this at the moment, souls in the fictional world are implied to be very powerful but very temperamental. Throughout the games, souls tend get used for a lot of things, and there are numerous justifications for them being used in a particular way. It wouldn't be that big of a stretch for Avowed to use the events of the second game to justify this new disease of the soul.
In the end, it's impossible to say for sure what direction Obsidian will go in when it comes to the world's overall timeline. The Aedyr Empire's involvement in Avowed suggests that whatever is going on in the Living Lands is a serious issue, but there is no definitive evidence connecting it to the ending of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. Until the developer itself reveals when the game takes place, all fans can do is speculate on the matter. However, if it does take place after the second game, the new RPG will need to handle the lore fallout somehow.
Avowed releases in 2024 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.