The best of Xbox has yet to come. While it seems that Bethesda remains its biggest acquisition to date, all the studios it has acquired in the past couple of years are hard at work on games that may very well define Xbox this generation.
There are big Bethesda titles like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 fans want to see, but Xbox has no shortage of high-profile games in development. There’s Fable, Perfect Dark, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Contraband, Everwild, State of Decay 3, and more. Obsidian Entertainment seems to be one of Microsoft’s biggest workhorses, though, as it has The Outer Worlds 2, Avowed, and a secret project in development (alongside still supporting Grounded).
RELATED: Everything We Know About Obsidian Entertainment's Secret Project
Many immediately saw Avowed as Obsidian going for Bethesda’s RPG crown, just as The Outer Worlds shares similarities with Fallout. Now, with both under Microsoft’s umbrella, it’s less likely about competition and more likely about taking the gaming industry to the next level. However, with all of this in mind, it seems Avowed and The Elder Scrolls share more than visual similarities, they share similar problems.
Avowed, The Elder Scrolls, and The Long Silence
Much of Xbox’s upcoming catalog is shrouded in secrecy, likely due at least in part to the acquisitions and when production/development could begin on so many projects. Still, of all of Microsoft’s upcoming games, Avowed may still stand out. It was announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in July 2020 with a trailer, but that’s been all of the solid information revealed so far.
Avowed is in a playable state, based on recent comments (though to what degree is uncertain), and of all things, fans also know that its codename is Project Alabama. It shares a world with Pillars of Eternity, that being Eora, and a few details cropped up around its announcement. Since then, there hasn’t been but a few peeps of small information and nothing solid.
This may sound familiar to The Elder Scrolls fans, as they have been in this situation since its announcement in 2018. First, it was that Starfield would release before The Elder Scrolls 6 news came about, and Starfield releases at the end of 2022. Now, Phil Spencer has said Fable will release before The Elder Scrolls 6 (and its announcement was much more recent). But aside from scraps of information like this, nothing substantial has been given, much less shown.
Indeed, this pattern of an announcement followed by long periods of silence is not uncommon in the industry. Many of the aforementioned Xbox exclusive titles are guilty of it, and the same can be said of many other brands in the industry too. Of course, it’s likely worsened due to the impact of COVID on the industry, and as such, a lot of it should be forgiven. Still, it leaves many fans waiting for what is clearly too long.
Avowed vs. The Elder Scrolls 6
Nonetheless, The Elder Scrolls 6 is arguably the worst of it, having been announced super early and not likely to see the light of day for a few more years. Avowed, while not on year 3 of perpetual silence like The Elder Scrolls 6, is a year into its run. It wasn’t at Gamescom ONL, which basically just leaves The Game Awards. An appearance there is not impossible, but neither does it seem likely. 2022 will see the game enter the second year of silence since its announcement if does not appear somewhere else.
It doesn’t seem that the patterns of early announcements are going anywhere time soon, but hopefully, Avowed won’t take as long as The Elder Scrolls 6. Whereas fans know Starfield's release date is first and TES6 likely way behind, Avowed does seem to be the next brand new game out of Obsidian—at least, if the order of announcements is meant to be chronological.
It’s a situation where many would be happy to be wrong, and many hope that it’s at The Game Awards or just drops something randomly. History, however, suggests otherwise.
Avowed is in development for PC and Xbox Series X.
MORE: Avowed's Opening Needs One Difference From The Outer Worlds