Obsidian’s next big RPG – and that’s a big deal – has a definitive release date. It will arrive later than originally planned, and the surprise is not so much the decision itself, but the reason for it: Xbox Game Studios has so many of its own games on PC and Xbox between now and the end of 2024 that it prefers to release Avowed in 2025. Believe it or not, it makes sense.
Avowed It’s not just any game, mind you. In our interview with director Carrie Patel, she shared her overwhelming enthusiasm for the project. And that they prefer to move it ahead of other scheduled releases does not detract from his ambition. We can only speculate as to why it has been decided that this will be the next fantasy adventure game from the creators of Pillars of Eternity, the sequel to Star Wars: KOTOR or Fallout: New Vegas. That said, and as you will see in the official announcement by Xbox, there are several elements that more or less define Microsoft’s strategy.
What Microsoft has in store between now and 2025
“There are so many games coming! That’s why we’re moving Avowed’s date to February 18, 2025 to give players a break and catch up with everyone else. Stay tuned for more games from Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda, and Xbox Game Studios at Gamescom, including our live event on August 23 to see more about Avowed.”
To start with, between the months of August and November there are releases and major expansions that cannot be changed because, among other reasons, calendars are being resumed or new ones will be planned from scratch:
- In August, the new era of World of Warcraft begins, whose expansion format will change completely when the World Soul Saga and the first of its chapters begin. Not to mention that this year we celebrate WOW’s 20th anniversary.
- Two strategy-focused games will be released in September: the new Age of Mythology and Ara: History Untold. And despite sharing a gender, they are only separated from each other by 20 days.
- October will be the decisive month after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard: not only will the first major expansion and season of Diablo 4 be released, but the next Call of Duty will also be released. Both will be multiplatform releases, by the way.
- Finally, on November 19th we will have Flight Simulator 2024whose title does not lend itself to many date changes, and, from there, both the new Indiana Jones game and the Starfield expansion can arrive at any time.
Avowed now has a definitive release date
Taking into account that Avowed is a fantasy, action and adventure game in first person, its launch is the one that was most likely to be reconsidered. However, it is time to give it a good and a bad: this time will serve to polish its proposal more and, to be fair, it will not be necessary to wait too long either: its release is scheduled for February 18th. Four days after Valentine’s Day. All in all, it must be said that 2025 is also shaping up to be a great year for Xbox Game Studios and Game Pass Ultimate players.
With Avowednext year we expect the arrival of DOOM: The Dark Ages and the new Fable. We will also see titles that seek to expand Microsoft’s licensing portfolio such as South of MidnightAnd we have not forgotten that sooner or later the next one will have to appear. Gears of WarPerfect Dark, The Elder Scrolls 6… If you are a subscriber to Game Pass on PC or the Ultimate version, which is a priority for Microsoft, the conclusion is clear: it is impossible to play everything.
Nobody likes delaying games, but there’s also no point in cannibalizing Obsidian’s biggest release since joining Xbox Game Studios when they have everything they have going on third-party releases must be added.
In any case, not only will we not have time to forget about Avowed, but this month we will have news: Microsoft has already confirmed that it will be one of the protagonists of Gamescom, where it will attend with its heavy artillery and more joy for subscribers of its video game service. Seen this way, we are in no hurry, but we do not intend to forget about it either. this great adventure.
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