Avowed Is Closer to Fallout: New Vegas Than Skyrim, Obsidian Says

The upcoming Xbox RPG Avowed is going to be far more similar to Fallout: New Vegas than The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. That information comes by way of those at the game’s studio, Obsidian Entertainment. While Skyrim is one of the most popular open-world RPGs of all time, Obsidian’s Fallout spin-off has also been just as lauded in many ways over the years. With Avowed slated to release later this year, Obsidian has provided prospective players with more of what they can expect from the title. 

Speaking to PCGamesN, Avowed director Carrie Patel opened up a bit more about the approach that Obsidian has taken with its latest RPG. Rather than trying to go toe-to-toe with a sprawling world that is on par with Skyrim, Patel says that the structure of Avowed will be more similar to what was seen with The Outer Worlds. As for its in-game content, Patel added that Avowed is a bit more “curated” with what it puts in front of the player, which is a choice that was also made with Fallout: New Vegas. 

“It’s hard in 2024 to escape some comparison to Skyrim if you’re making a first-person fantasy action RPG,” Patel said. “But I think the model that we’ve looked to internally is building Avowed as our fantasy take on The Outer Worlds, not with the same tone, but a similar structure to the world and in terms of scope. For us, it’s about having a more focused experience, something that feels a little more curated. We can be a little more intentional. Our world comprises zones that are definitely not small but certainly more constrained than a massive map that you can walk from, beginning to end, in several hours. It allows us to have a little more intentionality.”

“I think there’s an appetite for games that are big sprawling RPGs with a ton of openness but also games that are more curated, but also still maintain these elements of choice, character building, and progression,” Patel went on to say. “I think New Vegas is also full of those moments where we don’t want to handhold the player, but still, if players have the skills, they can still defeat these moments. I think New Vegas does a wonderful job of building the player experience not just through the critical plan but the side quests and secrets you can discover in the world. There’s a really great balance of consistency and variety. You want players to experience novelty and surprise, but also make sure that all these microelements you’re putting together are leading the player towards the same cohesive experience.”

For the time being, it’s still not known when exactly Avowed is slated to release. Earlier this month, Xbox confirmed that the game is currently on track to arrive at some point in Fall 2024. Regardless of when it does launch, though, it’s known that Avowed will be coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC. Since it is a first-party game from Xbox, it will also be available on day one of its launch through Xbox Game Pass.