What is the Avowed release date? Obsidian Entertainment is back in 2024 with another huge world to explore and a thrilling adventure to make your own. Following on with an entirely separate story to Pillars of Eternity but set in the same universe, Avowed finds you just as you are ordered by the Emperor of Aedyr to travel to the Living Lands on their behalf.
If you’ve played Pillars of Eternity, you might find the glorious, colorful world of Eora familiar, but Avowed takes place as a dreadful plague threatens to destroy it. If you aren’t familiar with the world of Obsidian’s 2015 fantasy game, you can explore it for the first time in Avowed as you play a new arrival in the Living Lands, so previous knowledge of the universe isn’t required. Either way, if you’re looking forward to the RPG game like we are, here’s everything we know about the Avowed release date, its story, setting, gameplay, and more.
Avowed release date estimate
Obsidian Entertainment has confirmed that Avowed will be released in 2024, but there is no specific release date as yet. Considering 2024 is right around the corner, we would expect the Avowed release date to be towards the end of the year, perhaps October or November, following the pattern of the studio’s previous games.
We know that Obsidian Entertainment is currently working on both Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2, the latter of which does not even have a release year yet and is in very early development. While we could perhaps hope for a March release date, following in the footsteps of Pillars of Eternity, it is more likely we are looking at an Avowed release date towards mid or late 2024. Either way, we’re hoping for an announcement on when we can expect to get our hands on Avowed during The Game Awards 2023.
Information and footage from Avowed development is fairly thin on the ground, with just one reveal trailer and one gameplay trailer on the Obsidian Entertainment YouTube channel, which is another reason for believing that the release date isn’t that close. That said, the two-and-a-half minute gameplay trailer, as we explore below, does seem to show some very clean and well-developed footage of cutscenes, combat, and more.
Avowed setting
Avowed takes place in the Living Lands, an island in north-west Eora. The stunning location is filled with color, plantlife, and fantastical creatures – some of which are hostile, while others might be used to your advantage. We know that the Living Lands are filled with a variety of fantasy species, such as Dwarves and Aumaua, some of which can become your companions as you explore the island.
The Living Lands are named as such thanks to both of these features: the fertile soil on which the flora grows, and the rich variety of species living together on this land. However, all of this is threatened by the events of Avowed.
Avowed trailers
In the first reveal trailer, which we were shown during the 2020 Xbox Game Showcase, the world of Eora is teased as flaming arrows soar through the sky over the land. One pierces the armor of a skeletal foe, and another lands inside an expansive cave city, lighting its surroundings as it plummets. As the trailer asks “Is an Oath worth the weight of a crown?”, giving us some insight into the inner conflict we’ll face, we are shown the first glimpse of both the magic and weapon-based combat we can wield in Avowed.
Obsidian’s goal has always been “developing games where players can forge their own unique stories and experiences that can change with every play-through”, and it seems from this first trailer alone that Avowed gives us the chance to choose which path we take: whether to abandon our duties in the face of war, or seek the riches and rewards of a hero.
In the second trailer, a gameplay and release window trailer revealed in June 2023, we are giving more insight into the story that takes place in Avowed. A stranger to the Living Lands, you have been sent by your emperor to investigate the plague that is spreading across the land. The plague isn’t the only hurdle you will face though, as you are met with hostility.
As Kai, an Avowed NPC, provides the voiceover and gives a brief backstory, we are shown footage of some of the creatures of the Living Lands, and what the plague has done to them. Clips of melee combat and magic use are shown, as the voiceover reveals just how much power we have, and that the people of the Living Lands, who we are trying to protect, are afraid of us.
Our magical power appears to be elemental, as the player character is seen freezing a foe, hurling an explosive ball of fire, and using other such magical attacks. Meanwhile, it is clear that you are able to use both magic and weapons simultaneously. As the reveal trailer asks a question, so does the gameplay trailer, as Kai asks, “Now that you have all this power, what are you going to do with it?”
Avowed story
As we know from the trailers above, we have been sent to Eora to investigate a plague that is taking over the creatures, the living, and seemingly the dead of the land. Not a Living Lands local ourselves, we have been sent here as an envoy of Aedyr to save the island. Upon arrival, we are immediately attacked by threatened locals who are afraid of the power we have and are apparently taking their frustrations about the emperor out on us, the emperor’s representative.
As both trailers ask a question of the player, it seems there are going to be decisions to make as you play Avowed. Do you help or hinder? Play for yourself or for the greater good? While the basis of the story is set, how you play it out seems to be up to you.
We’ll be keeping an ear out for more news on the Avowed release date, as well as more gameplay footage as and when it comes. In the meantime, you could always check out some of the other story games we love, and find out if Avowed is on Game Pass if you’re not sure whether you want to fully commit when it comes out.