Avowed Size and Scope Closer to The Outer Worlds' Than Skyrim's

Think of Avowed like The Outer Worlds rather than Skyrim in terms of size and scope, developer Obsidian has said.

Obsidian boss Feargus Urquhart told PC Gamer the studio’s initial pitch was for Avowed to be a bigger, sprawling open-world fantasy role-playing game like Bethesda’s Skyrim, but it ended up being smaller scale, similar to its previous sci-fi role-playing game The Outer Worlds.

After announcing Avowed three years ago during a livestream, Microsoft finally revealed gameplay during its Xbox Games Showcase event alongside a 2024 release window. It’s a first-person fantasy RPG set in Eora, the world of Pillars of Eternity, with fantastical monsters and lots of magical combat.

So, expect typical Obsidian first-person melee and magic battles, all cast in the brightly coloured and vibrant environments in a section of Eora called The Living Lands. The trailer was narrated by a character named Kai, a former soldier and one of the companions who joins the player in Avowed.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Avowed, but it seems story and companions are very important to the game. According to PC Gamer, when Obsidian started focusing on this, Avowed’s smaller scale “came naturally”.

It’s busy times at Obsidian. It’s working on The Outer Worlds 2, continues to support Grounded and Pentiment, and of course has Avowed in development.

In case you missed it, here’s everything announced during the Xbox Games Showcase. When you’re done with that, check out our Summer of Gaming schedule to find out what’s next.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.