What to expect from Avowed 2025

Summary

• Awowed, a first-person fantasy RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, offers unique combat systems and open world exploration.
• Scheduled for release on February 18, 2025, Awowed promises a new take on Obsidian RPGs with an emphasis on player agency.
• While post-launch content for Avowed is unconfirmed, Obsidian's history suggests significant support can be expected.

Obsidian Entertainment's highly anticipated fantasy RPG, Avowedis almost here, aiming to offer fans of the developer's previous work something unique and yet familiar. Set in the same universe as Obsidians Pillar of Eternity series, Avowed takes players to the Living Lands of Eora, where they have been sent by the Aedyr Empire to investigate a mysterious plague known as the Dream Scourge. Based on what has been revealed so far, Avowed is chock full of content for players to discover, including an expansive world, new characters to befriend, a robust battle system, and more.

Avowed might originally have been released this year, near the end of 2024, but now that it has been moved to the beginning of next year, there is a lot in store for fans of the highly anticipated fantasy RPG in 2025. Not only will Avowed offer gameplay elements unique to the Obsidian brand, but there's plenty of reason to believe its legacy will continue throughout the year, given the developer's history with post-launch content. That said, Obsidian has yet to confirm whether Avowed will receive significant post-launch support in addition to regular updates and any fixes necessary for the game to run smoothly.

Avowed is slated for a February 2025 release

Avowed launches on February 18, 2025 alongside many other great titles

Avowed was originally slated for a fall 2024 release but was delayed, with Obsidian revealing its intentions were to give players some “breathing space” amid a busy release schedule. Ironically, Avoweds new release date of February 18, 2025 puts it in the middle of one of the most crowded release windows in gaming history, meaning that avoiding the shadow of other highly anticipated titles may not have been in the cards for Obsidian's upcoming RPG. That said, there's still time between now and February 18th for Obsidian to change its mind Avoweds release date again, by either moving it up or postponing it.

Warhorse Studios
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
was recently moved up a week, likely in an attempt to get ahead of the busy release schedule, although the developer never explicitly stated the reason for the change.

Among February 2025's most notable releases are Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 on February 4, Civilization 7 on February 11, Assassin's Creed Shadows on February 14, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii on February 21 and Monster Hunter Wilds on February 28. In defense of Avoweds new release date, the game may have enough to stand out from the crowd, considering how unique the fantasy is, almost Fable-like setting is in comparison to the rest of February 2025's games. But being an RPG, it can still have both Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii to deal with.

Avowed's combat and exploration are unique to an Obsidian title

Fortunately, Avowed is not a typical RPG experience for Obsidian, as it revamps the most basic elements of the developer's portfolio with some unique methods to enhance player engagement and agency. Firstly, Avowedroots and setting separates it from Obsidian's later successes, The outer worldsas it is a first-person version of the fantasy world established by Pillar of Eternity.

However, Avoweds combat is also a step in a different direction for the developer, with a more flexible system than previous Obsidian games that lets players mix and match weapons and magic across both hands, offering combos like swinging an ax in one hand and casting spells with a grimoire in the other. Ultimately, Avoweds combat system allows for more different play styles than ever before in an Obsidian game, emphasizing an unprecedented amount of player agency for the developer.

Fortunately,
Avowed
is not a typical RPG experience for Obsidian, as it innovates on the most fundamental elements of the developer's portfolio with some unique methods to enhance player engagement and agency.

Avoweds missions and exploration are also unique to the developer, both of which also rely heavily on the choices players make and expect players to make as many of their own choices as possible. Avoweds world features interconnected open areas for players to explore, all of which have been intentionally designed not only to encourage exploration, but to encourage players to feel confident engaging with the world at their own pace and in the way they see fit is appropriate. Avoweds missions are combined with exploration in this way, allowing players to approach almost every mission in multiple ways.

Avowed could see post-launch content that was added at a later date

While post-launch content news for Avowed hasn't been revealed by Obsidian yet, it's possible to speculate what might come to the game after its release on February 18 next year, based on the developer's history with post-launch content. Obsidian Entertainment has a strong track record of supporting its games with significant post-launch content, so the same may well be true for Avowed. For example, The outer worlds was expanded post-launch with two significant DLCs, Peril on Gorgon and Murder on Eridanos, both of which introduced new storylines, missions, areas and characters.

Obsidians Pillar of Eternity series, which Avowed is entrenched, also received significant post-launch support. The first one Pillar of Eternityfor example, received a two-part expansion, The White March, which added new regions, quests, companions, and an increased level cap to the base game. Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire received similar support, with several post-launch DLCs introducing a wealth of new content to the base game. Needless to say, in light of Obsidian's history with post-launch content, Avowed may receive the same level of support, although it is important to remember that this has not yet been confirmed.

With
Avowed
launching as early as 2025, there's plenty of time left in the year to receive post-launch content, should Obsidian decide to go that route.

For now, Avowed continues to march forward towards its highly competitive 2025 release window, with firm plans to differentiate itself, regardless of the other games it shares the launch window with. With lots of unique RPG elements and a distinct take on Obsidians Pillar of Eternity formula, it might be enough to stand out from the crowd and start a new story for the developer. Whether or not Avowed avoids the shadow of other big titles in February 2025, its emphasis on player agency and fantasy adventure can still secure its place on the list of 2025's greatest achievements.