In a candid interview with Bloomberg, Carrie Patel, who stepped into the role of the second game director for Avowed, revealed the tumultuous journey behind the game's development. Initially, Obsidian Entertainment set out to create Avowed as a blend of Destiny and Skyrim, with ambitions to offer a massive open world ripe for cooperative exploration and enriched with multiplayer dynamics.
The first teaser trailer, released in 2020, sparked enthusiasm among the gaming community. However, it concealed a stark truth: the game was far from ready. Mere months after the teaser, the team made the bold decision to abandon two years of work and start over from scratch. Today, that teaser serves as a mere memento of an early prototype that does not reflect the game's ultimate form.
Post-reboot, Carrie Patel took the helm as game director and steered Avowed in a new direction. She moved away from the original inspirations of Skyrim and Destiny, opting to eliminate the open-world and multiplayer aspects. Instead, Obsidian returned to its roots, adopting a zone-based structure similar to their previous works and concentrating on delivering a rich, single-player narrative deeply connected to the lore of Pillars of Eternity.
The decision to restart mid-development presented significant challenges, akin to embarking on a film project without a script. The development teams navigated through uncertainty as the leadership worked to forge a clear vision. Despite these obstacles, it took another four years of dedicated effort before Avowed was ready for release.