"Avowed: Originally a Mix of Destiny and Skyrim"

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Carrie Patel, the second game director of Avowed, provided insights into the tumultuous development journey that led to the abandonment of two years' worth of work. Initially, Obsidian Entertainment set out to create Avowed as a blend of Destiny and Skyrim, intending to merge cooperative exploration within a vast open world with dynamic multiplayer features.

The first teaser trailer, released in 2020, sparked excitement among fans but concealed the underlying truth: the game was far from finished. Mere months after the trailer's debut, the team decided to scrap the entire project and begin anew. As a result, the teaser now serves as a memento of an unreleased prototype, which does not reflect the final game.

After the reboot, Carrie Patel took over as game director and steered the project in a new direction. She moved away from the initial inspirations of Skyrim and Destiny, opting to eliminate the open-world design and multiplayer aspects. Instead, Obsidian returned to its roots with a zone-based structure and concentrated on developing a captivating single-player narrative deeply connected to the lore of Pillars of Eternity.

Restarting the project mid-development posed significant challenges, comparable to making a film without a script. The teams worked relentlessly under uncertain circumstances as the leadership struggled to forge a unified vision. Despite these obstacles, the development process extended over another four years before Avowed was finally released.