The new role-playing game from developer Obsidian Entertainment is just around the corner and is highly anticipated by fans. However, a long-time employee seems surprisingly calm about it.
Which game is it about? Avowed is a new role-playing game from Obsidian Entertainment. The studio is very well acquainted with the genre. In the past, it developed popular and acclaimed titles such as Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and The Outer Worlds.
Avowed impresses with a dynamic combat system that allows you to switch between melee and ranged weapons at any time and also gives you various abilities. This reminded MeinMMO author Max Handwerk pleasantly of Skyrim during his first playthrough.
An Obsidian developer knows that the game is eagerly awaited by many fans of the studio. It would be reasonable to assume that the pressure on the team is high. However, the said developer appears surprisingly relaxed.
The presentation in the trailer already caused excitement among fans:
Excitement despite years of experience
Which developer is it about? His name is Dennis Presnell, and the list of games he has been involved in reads like a best-of of role-playing games from the past 27 years.
These include titles such as Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2, or Planescape Torment – some of the best RPGs of all time, created at Black Isle Studios. In 2003, Presnell joined Obsidian Entertainment, where he worked on well-known games like Pillars of Eternity or The Outer Worlds. He was also involved in Fallout: New Vegas.
The developer usually works as an Environmental Artist, meaning he is responsible for the design of landscapes, cities, or dungeons.
Due to his many years of experience, Presnell knows how difficult it is to develop a game. Every time it is a huge excitement. The developer describes it like this:
I have always felt a certain anxiety months before the release of a game; it was nerve-wracking. But I’ve never been this confident at this stage of the project.
Dennis Presnell via gamesradar.com
By “the project,” he means the new game Avowed, which is set to be released on February 18, 2025, and won’t keep players waiting much longer. While Presnell usually feels nervous during this time, he feels good this time:
I am just incredibly happy with how well everything is coming together. The team is currently finalizing everything, fixing bugs, and working on performance. I will really be proud of this game when it’s accessible to the public. I can hardly wait.
Dennis Presnell via gamesradar.com
Whether Avowed will resonate with RPG fans at release, and whether expectations will be met, remains to be seen. The developer is indeed optimistic. There has also been criticism ahead of time, as Obsidian Entertainment is participating in the Early Access business model: A developer wants you to pay 90 euros on Steam to play 5 days earlier
