Discover the exciting prospects for the Avowed franchise as the game's success opens doors for future expansions and sequels. Dive into the details of the game's development journey and learn about Obsidian's broader plans for the Pillars of Eternity universe.
Avowed Director Wants To Do More With The World They Built
Possibility of Expansions or Sequels
The release of Avowed has been a triumph, with both Microsoft and Obsidian expressing satisfaction with its sales performance. In a recent interview with Bloomberg on February 22, 2025, Avowed Game Director Carrie Patel discussed the potential for further development of the franchise. While no concrete plans have been announced, Patel expressed her enthusiasm for continuing to direct and her desire to explore more within the world they've crafted. "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," Patel stated, hinting at the possibility of future expansions or a sequel.
Changes in Avowed During Development
The journey to create Avowed was fraught with challenges and pivotal changes. Patel described the development process as "messy," but ultimately successful. Initially started in 2018, the project faced hurdles as Obsidian navigated its transition from an independent studio to being acquired by Microsoft in 2020. This shift led to the abandonment of certain features, including multiplayer aspects, and a complete leadership change and reboot in January 2021. Under Patel's leadership, the focus shifted to enhancing the story and lore from the Pillars of Eternity series, and the game's structure was altered from an open world to open zones, allowing for more detailed and immersive environments.
Patel reflected on the tumultuous 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 Wants Pillars of Eternity Tactics
With Avowed bringing the Pillars of Eternity universe back into the spotlight, Obsidian is now looking to expand the franchise further. During a Twitch Livestream on February 23, 2025, Josh Sawyer, the director of Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, shared the studio's interest in developing a tactics game titled "Pillars: Tactics." Sawyer highlighted the internal enthusiasm for such a project, saying, "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, he also acknowledged the challenges in defining the project's scope, including team size, visual quality, and overall scale.
Despite this, Sawyer remains committed to the idea of a third Pillars of Eternity game, albeit with a significantly larger budget akin to that of Baldur’s Gate 3, which stands at $100 million—a stark contrast to the budget of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire.
Avowed is now available for Xbox Series X|S and PC. Stay updated with the latest news on Avowed by checking out our article below!
