Avowed Was Originally Designed as a Blend of Destiny and Skyrim

In a recent Bloomberg interview, Avowed's second game director, Carrie Patel, revealed the turbulent journey behind the game's development, including the discarding of two years' worth of work. Obsidian Entertainment initially conceived Avowed as a blend of Destiny and Skyrim, aiming for a massive open world with cooperative multiplayer.

The 2020 teaser trailer, while exciting for fans, masked the game's unfinished state. Months later, the decision was made to completely restart development, leaving the trailer as a testament to a vastly different, unreleased prototype.

Following the reboot, Patel took the helm, reimagining Avowed. She moved away from the Skyrim and Destiny influences, abandoning the open-world design and multiplayer aspects. Instead, Obsidian opted for their signature zone-based structure, focusing on a strong single-player narrative grounded in the Pillars of Eternity lore.

This mid-development restart presented enormous challenges, comparable to filmmaking without a script. Teams worked intensely amidst uncertainty as leadership solidified a unified vision. Despite these obstacles, development continued for another four years before Avowed's eventual release.