Todd Howard recently announced that The Elder Scrolls 6 is still "in the design phase" over three years after its initial reveal, with the studio focusing primarily on Starfield , its first new IP in over 25 years. It's likely that, similar to Bethesda, most of Obsidian's resources are currently focused on Avowed . The Outer Worlds 2 's trailer may have poked fun at games announced long before their development had begun in earnest, but it's also likely a self-confessed culprit of exactly t
Avowed is set in the Living Lands, an ecologically diverse frontier continent in the north of Eora, the world from Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity CRPGs. The studio will need to work hard to distinguish Avowed 's setting from the competition. There are even reasons this task may be trickier than it was with Pillars of Eternity . However, the Living Lands also offer some unique opportunities Obsidian shouldn't let pass it
Although these features mostly add extra opportunities for immersion, sometimes the lack of them directly detracts from player immersion in the game. In Skyrim a player can kill an enemy then drag their corpse out of sight to prevent another enemy from going on the alert. This doesn't come with any special animation like players will find in Dishonored or recent Far Cry games. In fact, the bodies in Skyrim will ragdoll, making them look more than a little silly. Nonetheless, there is an underlying logic, and players are given the ability to engage with their environment in less traditional ways than just combat or dialo
The final likely possibility is Avowed modeling its system after Skyrim 's design. In this case there isn't a class system, but there is a skill and perk system. Aside from differences contingent on race, every Skyrim player starts out the same, and levels up skills depending on what they do more of in the game. Levelling skills unlocks unique perks, such as being able to forward roll while in stealth. Each of these possible systems comes with its own pros and c
Obsidian is currently developing two major first-person RPGs, Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 . When looked at alongside smaller projects like Grounded , it certainly seems like the studio is busier than ever bef
Following the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake last year as well as the Intergrade DLC and the PS5 version only recently, many assumed Square Enix would at least be willing to show off what's next for Cloud, Tifa, and the rest of the crew. Tetsuya Nomura has revealed that the development team has moved on to Part 2, though details continue to be scarce leaving many fans to speculate and theorize how the experience could cha
Avowed Weapons will likely draw a lot of direct comparisons to Skyrim and the Elder Scrolls series at large when it releases. These are likely comparisons Obsidian itself will want to encourage. Avowed is set in the world of Eora , first created for the two Pillars of Eternity games, Pillars of Eternity being an isometric RPG series developed by Obsidian previously. One of the reasons Avowed will see the franchise move to a first-person perspective is that, despite their critical success, the studio's traditional isometric RPGs were struggling financially. By marketing an Elder Scrolls -style game, the studio likely hopes to find more reliable success with its sett
This could require Obsidian to make some updates to its engine during the development of Avowed . That being said, the studio can't hope to take on The Elder Scrolls series without first understanding some of the smaller elements that helped bring its huge success. Avowed may be a continuation of Pillars of Eternity , but many fantasy fans buying the game will be hoping for a spiritual successor to Skyrim . If Obsidian is going to take on a giant, the devil will be in the deta
Avowed 's setting has far more to offer than it first appears to. Its hidden depths are literal. There are huge pillars of adra - a soul-channeling mineral - that extend into mega-dungeons beneath Eora that hide hidden secrets and technology. This might sound like The Elder Scrolls ' Dwemer ruins, but unlike The Elder Scrolls , Obsidian's Eora-set games have not hesitated to make solving the mysteries of its lost civilization a main part of the p
This has led some fans to worry that Obsidian may be biting off more than it can chew. While those fears are not unfounded given the company's history, there is also some evidence to suggest that the studio may be in a stronger position to take on ambitious projects like Avowed and The Outer Worlds seq
Avowed has the potential to both benefit from and fall victim to close comparisons with other fantasy games. When the trailer for Obsidian's upcoming first-person RPG dropped, Bethesda fans were quick to notice surface-level similarities with The Elder Scrolls , with many hoping the game could fill the gap left by the long wait for The Elder Scrolls
Beyond Parthurnaax there were very few developed dragon characters in the game, with most just appearing in the sky to attack the Dragonborn on-site before being killed and used to unlock new shouts. Dragon fights proved relatively easy even on Skyrim 's highest difficulty setting, leading some fans to mod the game to make battling the beasts more challenging. Though dragons are said to be highly intelligent, this was hardly reflected in their tactics or the story. Odahviing, for example, is led into a trap in Whiterun Keep with relative ease, and most dragons across Skyrim seem easily defeated by the Dragonborn rather than being truly intimidating foes to face d