Microsoft looks to be ending 2024 and beginning 2025 with a bang. Xbox was getting a lot of stick earlier in the year for having a relatively tame line-up of first party games, but with eventual announcements it finally looks like it’s going to have a healthy launch schedule. Add to that the first Call of Duty under the Microsoft banner with Black Ops 6, and things are looking up for the brand.
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Don’t Play Avowed As Anything Other Than A Mage
Avowed’s melee combat feels a bit dated, but flinging spells around is pure magic and lets the top-tier writing and characters shine.
However, a lot of fans were disappointed when it was announced that the launch of Avowed would be moved to February 2025. It was initially unclear why this delay took place, with most people speculating it was for quality control. However, Microsoft chief Phil Spencer has cleared the air. Explaining that the game was delayed for strategic purposes, rather than quality reasons.
Why Was This Avowed To Happen?
Speaking to Game File, Spencer explained that Avowed was not delayed as a result of lack of polish or inability to meet deadlines, but rather to give players enough time to work on their backlogs and finish other games. It seems Microsoft was of the mind that players would need some free time to fully enjoy Obsidian’s upcoming RPG, which does make sense.
“We can afford it when we have the Diablo expansion, then Black Ops, then Indy [Indiana Jones and the Great Circle],” said Spencer when asked about the delay (thanks VGC). “We didn’t move it because Obsidian needed the time. They’ll use the time.” He also added that he, along with Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty, discussed the release schedule with the Game Pass team to better pace it out.
This seems like a good call by Spencer and the team, especially since they wouldn’t want their own games eating into each other’s playtime. And, while Obsidian may not need the extra time, every game could use more time to further polish things up, especially massive action RPGs.
Additionally, considering that Avowed will have multiple endings that stretch into double-digits, there’s surely something or the other that could use a lookover. The game’s director earlier revealed that the devs have a number of ending slides ready, which “number in the double digits”, and players could get a combination of any number of them based on in-game decisions.
Avowed is a next-gen RPG from Obsidian Entertainment. It is set in the same world as the developer’s Pillars of Eternity series, and is played in first person. In the Living Lands of Eora, you must put an end to a mysterious plague.