Avowed Almost Became a Skyrim Multiplayer Game!

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Summary

  • Avowed was originally a multiplayer take on Skyrim, but went through two reboots before its eventual release.
  • The game was delayed to balance out Xbox Game Pass releases, not due to development troubles.
  • Avowed has received generally positive reviews, with praise for its gameplay, exploration, and story, despite some bugs.

A chat with Carrie Patel, director of Avowed, has disclosed that Obsidian Entertainment’s latest project initially aimed to be a multiplayer version of Skyrim, named Avowed. Over the course of six years, this game underwent two reboots, shedding all multiplayer aspects to assume its present shape.

First unveiled during the Xbox Games Showcase back in July 2020, Avowed has just been launched for both PC and Xbox Series X/S, marking another addition to the Pillars of Eternity universe. So far, critics have generally given Avowed positive reviews, lauding its gameplay, exploration, and storyline, but also pointing out a few bugs.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Carrie Patel revealed some challenges faced during the development of Avowed. Originally conceived in 2018, the plan was to blend elements of games like Skyrim and Destiny within the world of Eora from Pillars of Eternity, enabling cooperative gameplay among friends. However, by 2020, it became apparent that the multiplayer component was not functioning as intended, causing two reboots for the project. Following the second reboot, Patel joined a team of approximately 80 individuals as the new director, essentially restarting the project from the ground up.

Avowed Was Rebooted Twice, and It Was Originally a Multiplayer Take on Skyrim

As per Patel’s explanation, joining the project following the last reboot proved to be a tough undertaking due to the massive team size and the intricacies of working while the project was progressing rapidly. The title faced two significant shifts in direction. The initial adjustment focused on deepening the narrative of Eora, while the second decision involved abandoning the open-world setting in Avowed. Obsidian found it challenging to replicate the open-world experience similar to Skyrim, and instead, opted for a design that segmented the game areas into zones like The Outer Worlds, which was deemed a more viable solution.

It turns out that the reason for the delay of Avowed wasn’t due to any difficulties in its development. Instead, Phil Spencer explained that the game was pushed back to 2025 to ensure a good balance on Xbox’s Game Pass service. This was necessary because late in 2024, there were several highly anticipated games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, STALKER 2, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle that were set to release.

Thankfully, everything went smoothly and Avowed had a triumphant debut. Although opinions about the game range from favorable to indifferent, Avowed has made quite an impact on Steam, finding itself listed among the top sellers in the US chart even though it’s also accessible through Xbox Game Pass.

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2025-02-21 22:45