In a revealing interview with Bloomberg, Carrie Patel, the second game director of Avowed, provided insight into the tumultuous development journey that resulted in the abandonment of two years of work. Initially, Obsidian Entertainment set out to create Avowed as a blend of Destiny and Skyrim, intending to merge cooperative exploration of an expansive open world with dynamic multiplayer features.
The first teaser trailer, released in 2020, sparked excitement among fans, but it concealed the true state of the project: the game was far from finished. Mere months after the trailer's debut, the decision was made to completely overhaul the project, rendering the teaser a mere artifact of an unreleased prototype that no longer reflected the final game.
Following the decision to restart, Carrie Patel took the helm as game director and steered the project in a new direction. She moved away from the initial inspirations of Skyrim and Destiny, abandoning the open-world concept and multiplayer aspects. Instead, Obsidian returned to their roots with a zone-based structure and concentrated on developing a rich single-player narrative deeply connected to the lore of Pillars of Eternity.
Restarting the game mid-development presented significant challenges, comparable to making a film without a script. Teams labored under uncertain circumstances as the leadership struggled to forge a unified vision. Despite these obstacles, the development process extended another four years until Avowed was finally ready for release.
