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 accidental leak of the Avowed release date, as well as official details about its story, setting, and gameplay.
Avowed release date window
Avowed is scheduled to launch in 2024 and will be available for PC via Steam and Xbox Series X|S. No official word has been given by either Obsidian or Microsoft outside of a 2024 release.
An accidental release date reveal was archived in a post by Wario64 on X, formerly Twitter, with screen captures of the Xbox Wire article before and after it was edited.
Information and footage from Avowed development were both fairly scarce, with just a handful of trailers available on both the Xbox and the Obsidian Entertainment YouTube channels. However, Microsoft first mentioned that the release was coming in 2024 since the Xbox Developer Direct stream in January.
Avowed trailers
In the first reveal trailer, 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 a 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.
Avowed gameplay
In the second trailer, a gameplay and release window trailer revealed in June 2023, we are given more insight into the story in Avowed. A stranger to the Living Lands, you have been sent by your emperor to investigate the plague spreading across the land. The plague isn’t the only hurdle you will face, though, as you are met with hostility.
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 how much power we have and that the people of the Living Lands, whom we are trying to protect, are afraid of us.
Our magical power appears elemental, as the player character is seen blasting away assailants, hurling an explosive ball of fire, freezing enemies, and using other such magical attacks. Meanwhile, you can 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
During Summer Game Fest 2024, we got a more in-depth look at the story itself. 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. While the emperor asks us to find the root of the Dream Scourge and wipe it out, another character called Lödwyn claims the emperor is wrong. She says that the Dream Scourge is merely a symptom of a wider issue and instead asks you to “tame the chaos” so that those who remain can rebuild.
However, the trailer also reveals a third party, Giatta, who claims that both the emperor and Lödwyn are deceiving you. She merely asks that you open yourself to the world’s mysteries and tend to the living lands as its protector. While the basis of the story is set, how you play it out seems to be up to you.
Avowed setting
Avowed takes place in the Living Lands, an island in north-west Eora. The stunning location is filled with color, plant life, and fantastical creatures – some hostile ones, while others might be used to your advantage. We know that the Living Lands are filled with various 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 two features: the fertile soil on which the flora grows and the rich variety of species living together on this land. However, the events of Avowed threaten all of this, and clearly, it’s up to you to decide its fate.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for more news on the Avowed release date and 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 unsure whether you want to commit when it comes out fully.