Avowed release date, gameplay, and latest news

Avowed just received a new trailer, which shows off new gameplay and story content. Better yet, the game now has a release window, one that puts it not too far off from coming out.

From what we’ve seen so far, fans of Skyrim will be right at home with Avowed, given that it boasts a similar style of combat involving melee and magic attacks. There’s guns too, and even companions to meet and take out on missions. All of this makes Avowed in prime position to potentially land on best Xbox games lists all over the internet!

Here’s what we know about Avowed so far, including whether it’s coming to Xbox Game Pass. As more information is revealed on Avowed, this page will be updated. Hopefully we hear more sooner rather than later. 

Avowed: cut to the chase

• What is it? A new first-person fantasy RPG from Obsidian Entertainment
• When can I play it? TBC 2024
• What can I play it on? Xbox Series X|S and PC

Avowed release date and platforms

Avowed will release some time in 2024. This is as much of a release date that has been given by Xbox and Obsidian so far. We do not currently know the exact date.

We do know however that Avowed will be an Xbox console exclusive. Given Microsoft’s previous release pattern, that means it’s coming to PC, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. As is standard for first-party games, it’ll also be coming to Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on day one.

Since Microsoft owns Obsidian, we shouldn’t expect to see the game come to PS5, or PS4. Even though The Outer Worlds landed on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms, this was in development well before Obsidian’s acquisition by Microsoft was finalized and it’s very unlikely that Avowed will follow the same path.  

Avowed story and setting

Avowed is a fantasy RPG. Set in Eora, the world of the Pillars of Eternity games, both games are developed by Obsidian but Avowed will take a first-person perspective, rather than POE’s isometric perspective. So, the game will feel quite different from its predecessors.

We expect fans of the POE games will be sure to recognize elements of the world. Pillars of Eternity largely focused on the nation of Dyrwood, though, which is slightly different to what’s on show this time around.

What’s also new here is that the POE games were very much PC-first experiences, even if both 2015’s Pillars of Eternity and 2018’s sequel Deadfire came to current-gen consoles a couple of years after their initial launch dates. Avowed being announced on an Xbox stream, for a launch across PC, Xbox, and Game Pass, confirms how different this is going to be. Expect a very controller-friendly RPG.

Based on its trailer, Avowed has drawn some comparisons with the Elder Scrolls series in terms of its appearance but Phil Spencer has said there are “distinct differences” between the games.

When asked on an IGN podcast if Avowed will play an Elder Scrolls role for Xbox, given the The Elder Scrolls 6 is quite a while off yet, Spencer responded: 

“I think the games are very different, so maybe I struggle a little bit to say that’s our version of this, just knowing what [Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart] and the team are going off to do. But when I think about our lineup, and I think about that more core fantasy RPG setting, I think Avowed is gonna be an awesome entrance there.”

Either way, we’re excited to see what Obsidian brings to the table, even if it cleaves close to Skyrim in its combination of spell-aided combat and epic open-world quests.

Avowed gameplay

Thanks to the most recent Avowed trailer, we now have a pretty good idea as to what gameplay will be like once the game launches. Things look very similar to something like Skyrim in that it’s a mix of spell-casting and melee combat. You can mix and match magic, swords and even pistols to dispatch your enemies, which range from skeleton armies to giant infected bears.

One thing we do know is that you will be able to recruit companions while playing Avowed. These will follow you on quests and into battle. It’s unclear just how large the map is, but things do appear to be set up in a large open-world area. We’ll need to hear more before we can say for sure.

What we would like to know more about are the RPG mechanics. It’s currently unclear as to how much control players will have over things like character customization and skill trees. Given that this is being made by Obsidian however, expect a decent amount of options as far as building a character is concerned.

Avowed trailers

The latest trailer for Avowed was revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 event. It’s a much more gameplay-focused affair than the last one, and really helps set the tone for the game moving forward. Check it out below:

So far there have only been two trailers for Avowed. We advise fans to keep their eyes on the Xbox YouTube channel for any updates in the future.

Avowed latest news

Avowed shown off at Xbox Games Showcase 2023
After a couple of years of silence, Avowed was shown off once more at Xbox Games Showcase 2023. A new trailer gave us our best look at gameplay yet, and there were even companions and spell-casting to enjoy.

That’s everything we know about Avowed so far. For a look at other first-party titles set to arrive on Xbox in the near future, check out our New Xbox Series X games guide.