Obsidian teases new 'epic first-person RPG' Avowed and updates two others at Xbox Showcase

Cal Jeffrey

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Something to look forward to: Microsoft had a ton of games to show off at its Xbox Games Showcase. Three were from Obsidian Entertainment. Two of them were previously announced, but the latest one is an intriguing new "epic" RPG. We only got a glimpse of it, but as a fan of Obsidian role-playing games, I'm excited and can't wait to see more.

Obsidian Entertainment has been busy lately with three projects that it highlighted during Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase on Thursday. Two we already knew were coming—Grounded and The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon expansion DLC. The third was a surprise announcement for a new RPG called Avowed.

The launch trailer for Grounded was pretty humorous. "If you are waiting [dramatic pause] for the biggest game of the year [dramatic pause], then wait for Cyberpunk," the trailer's narrator quips. "From Obsidian Games, the makers of games that are not like this one."

Grounded is a multiplayer game where you and your friends are shrunk to the size of bugs. It's a survival adventure that takes a few cues from Fortnite, at least where building is concerned. It is intended as a 4-player co-op, but you can go it alone, or as the announcer puts it:

"Strive together to thrive together, or just feed your friend to the spiders and go solo."

Grounded is coming to Xbox One and PC. The game goes into Early Access on Steam on July 28 for $30. It will also be available through Xbox Game Preview or the Microsoft Store for the same price. Game Pass holders can play it for free, but will have to wait.

Next up was Peril on Gorgon, an expansion pack for Obsidian's excellent The Outer Worlds. The DLC includes a new planet (Gorgon) to explore, a bunch of new characters, and three new weapons. The missions will be integrated into the main game, so it will feel much more organic than DLCs that kind of branch off on their own path, leaving the core game far behind.

"We're really pushing some of the revelations and some of the bigger narrative feeds where you're learning about the stuff that has really influenced life [in the solar system of] Halcyon … and [your companions] definitely have feelings about it," Senior Narrative Designer Carrie Patel told Polygon in an interview.

Playtime for the expansion should run about six to eight hours, with players needing to revisit some of the core game's settlements to complete the DLC's quests. So you will not be playing exclusively on Gorgon.

Peril on Gorgon launches September 9 on all platforms except the Switch, which will get it "at a later date." The add-on will be $15, or you can get The Outer Worlds Expansion Pass for $25, which includes PoG and the next DLC.

Last up was a whole new Obsidian first-person RPG called Avowed. The trailer was just a teaser, so not too much was revealed about the game. It will be a fantasy RPG set in a world called Eora, where players will wield swords and magic. That was about all the studio would let us in on, although we did hear whispers of something in the works last September.

Obsidian has a pretty decent track record for RPGs, so Avowed might be one to keep on your radar. The developer said it is coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Game Pass, and PC. Since Obsidian Entertainment flies under the Xbox Game Studios banner now, there is very little chance this one is making it to PlayStation 4 or 5, so this could be a perfect console-selling exclusive. We'll just have to wait and see how the development progresses.

Microsoft had much more to reveal during the Showcase. If you are interested, you can watch it in its entirety on the Xbox YouTube channel.

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Avowed just looks like Skyrim and there’s no way to tell what the gameplay is like from what they showed us. Stop giving it hype until they do that. Fed up of watching trailers of cut scenes in games as if that’s supposed to get me interested. I would be more interested if they just gave us a title and told us that yes the cut scenes are both able to be paused or skipped!
 
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