In a recent Bloomberg interview, Carrie Patel, Avowed's second game director, revealed the tumultuous development journey that resulted in the scrapping of two years' work. Obsidian Entertainment initially conceived Avowed as a blend of Destiny and Skyrim, aiming for cooperative exploration within a vast open world, incorporating multiplayer elements.
The 2020 teaser trailer generated considerable fan excitement, but this masked the game's far-from-complete state. Months later, the decision was made to completely restart development. The teaser trailer now serves as a reminder of a discarded prototype, vastly different from the final release.
Following the reboot, Patel took the helm, reimagining the project. She moved away from the Skyrim and Destiny influences, abandoning the open-world design and multiplayer features. Instead, Obsidian opted for their signature zone-based structure, focusing on a captivating single-player narrative deeply rooted in the Pillars of Eternity lore.
This mid-development restart presented monumental 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.
