The director of Avowed has hinted at exciting plans for the franchise following the game's successful release. Dive into this article to discover more about the potential for expansions or sequels and other future endeavors from the team.
Avowed Director Aims to Expand the World They've Created
Possibility of Expansions or Sequels
Avowed has hit the ground running with impressive sales figures that have pleased both Microsoft and Obsidian. In a recent interview with Bloomberg on February 22, 2025, Avowed's Game Director, Carrie Patel, discussed the potential for an expansion or sequel. While Obsidian has not officially announced any plans, Patel expressed her enthusiasm for continuing to direct and explore new projects within the same universe. She stated, "Now that we’ve built this wonderful world, and also built this team strength and muscle memory around the content and gameplay in this world, I’d love to see us do more with it."
Changes in Avowed During Development
The journey to Avowed's release was filled with challenges and pivots. Patel described the development process as "messy," but ultimately successful. Initially started in 2018, the project faced significant changes after Microsoft acquired Obsidian in 2020. This acquisition led to the cancellation of several planned features, including multiplayer aspects, and a leadership shakeup in January 2021, which prompted a reboot of the game.
Under Patel's leadership, managing a team of over 80 was a daunting task. She shared, "Normally if you’re stepping back and reevaluating your creative direction, putting together a new vertical slice and revised production plans, you would do that with a very small team." The focus shifted to enhancing the story and lore from the Pillars of Eternity franchise and transitioning from an open world to open zones, which allowed for more detailed and immersive environments.
Patel reflected on the chaotic yet rewarding nature of game development, noting, "There’s this interesting thing I’ve seen on every project I’ve worked on or seen during my time at the studio — things are messy, messy, messy, then they start coming together."
Obsidian's Interest in Pillars of Eternity Tactics
With Avowed revitalizing interest in the Pillars of Eternity universe, Obsidian is now exploring the possibility of creating a tactics game titled Pillars of Eternity Tactics. During a Twitch Livestream on February 23, 2025, Josh Sawyer, the director of Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, expressed the studio's interest in this new direction. He said, "Pillars: Tactics is a thing that a lot of people would like, a lot of people at the studio would like to work on; there are a lot of people who like tactics games."
However, Sawyer highlighted the challenges in defining the project's scope, including team size, visual quality, and overall scale. He also mentioned the ongoing interest within the developer community for a tactics game in the Pillars of Eternity universe, suggesting that Avowed's success could pave the way for such a project.
Despite this, Sawyer remains focused on his ambitious goal of creating Pillars of Eternity 3 with a budget comparable to the $100 million spent on Baldur’s Gate 3, a significant leap from the budget of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire.
Avowed is currently available for Xbox Series X|S and PC. For the latest updates on Avowed, be sure to check out our article below!
