"Avowed: A Fusion of Destiny and Skyrim's Original Design"

In a recent Bloomberg interview, Carrie Patel, the co-game director of *Avowed*, offered a rare glimpse into the turbulent development journey that ultimately resulted in the loss of two full years of work. Initially, Obsidian Entertainment set out with ambitious aspirations for *Avowed*, aiming to merge the cooperative open-world appeal of *Destiny* with the immersive solo exploration of *Skyrim*. The concept was bold—bringing together dynamic multiplayer experiences within a vast, shared world.

The 2020 debut trailer stirred significant buzz among fans, yet it concealed a stark truth: the game was far from playable. Behind the polished visuals lay an incomplete prototype. Within months, the studio made the difficult but necessary decision to abandon the entire build and restart development from scratch. As a result, the original teaser now serves as a digital artifact—an echo of a prototype that no longer reflects the final version of the game.

When Carrie Patel took over as game director following the reset, she steered the project in a new direction. Drawing inspiration from Obsidian’s own legacy, she moved away from open-world multiplayer mechanics and instead embraced a more structured, zone-based design. The narrative focus shifted toward delivering a deep, single-player experience firmly grounded in the rich lore of *Pillars of Eternity*, the studio's acclaimed RPG series.

Rebooting a project mid-development is no small feat—it’s comparable to filming a movie without a finalized script. Under these uncertain conditions, development teams at Obsidian worked relentlessly while leadership grappled with defining a clear creative vision. Despite the instability and extended production timeline, the team persisted, dedicating another four years to bring *Avowed* to life.