Avowed in Good Position to Follow in Outer World’s Footsteps in One Regard

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Avowed in Good Position to Follow in Outer World's Footsteps in One Regard

Highlights

  • Avowed, a new RPG from Obsidian, was delayed to February 18, 2025 and will be exclusive to Xbox Series X/S and PC.
  • The Outer Worlds came to Nintendo Switch, showing potential for Avowed to come to Switch 2 in the future.
  • Avowed may follow suit and come to Nintendo Switch 2, offering a portable way to experience the fantasy RPG.

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I’ve seen the evolution of console exclusivity and cross-platform releases like a rollercoaster ride. The news about Avowed, the highly anticipated RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, being delayed to 2025 but exclusively available on Xbox Series X/S and PC, doesn’t come as a shocker.

In plain terms: “Avowed” is the highly anticipated AAA role-playing game from Obsidian Entertainment, known for creating popular titles such as “Fallout: New Vegas,” “Knights of the Old Republic 2,” and “The Outer Worlds.” Similar to their “Pillars of Eternity” series, this upcoming fantasy action RPG will drop players into a role where they’ll be an envoy on a mission to discover the source of a mysterious illness affecting a lush region called the Living Lands. The game is primarily set up for first-person play, but like Bethesda games, it can also be played in third-person view.

Initially scheduled for fall 2024, the game ‘Avowed’ has encountered some delays and is now expected to be released on February 18, 2025. Given that Obsidian Entertainment, its developer, is a Microsoft-owned studio, it’s anticipated that the game will debut exclusively on Xbox Series X/S and PC upon its release next year. At this point, there’s no official confirmation whether ‘Avowed’ will become available on other platforms following its February 2025 launch. Interestingly, if it does, ‘Avowed’ might follow in the footsteps of ‘The Outer Worlds’ by eventually appearing on Nintendo consoles after an initial exclusive run on Xbox systems.

Avowed Could Make a Big Splash on the Nintendo Switch 2

The Outer Worlds Came To Nintendo Switch After Its Initial Multiplatform Launch

Prior to its acquisition by Microsoft, Obsidian Entertainment developed and published The Outer Worlds, a satirical sci-fi RPG, under Take-Two’s Private Division label instead. Although Xbox had purchased Obsidian before the game’s announcement at The Game Awards 2018, the pre-existing contractual obligations necessitated that Private Division handle publication. Consequently, when The Outer Worlds was released in October 2019, it was available on multiple platforms simultaneously, including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. Interestingly, less than a year later, Private Division collaborated with Virtuos, a support studio based in Singapore, to bring The Outer Worlds to the Nintendo Switch in 2020.

It was surprising when The Outer Worlds, which was quite advanced for its time in size and graphics quality, was adapted for Nintendo Switch, a device not known for its powerful hardware. However, the developers at Virtuos found a way to make it work, although they had to significantly reduce the tech and graphic aspects of the game. Playing The Outer Worlds on Nintendo Switch wasn’t the best way to enjoy this popular RPG, but it was still playable and functional.

Avowed Could Be a Better Fit for the Switch 2 than The Outer Worlds Was For the Switch

If Avowed, following in The Outer Worlds’ footsteps, eventually arrives on a Nintendo platform after its initial launch, it may execute the transition more smoothly than Obsidian’s space RPG did by releasing on the hypothetical Nintendo Switch 2 instead of the original Switch. Given that Avowed might be too demanding for the original Nintendo Switch due to its graphical requirements, it’s highly unlikely that it could run natively on this console. However, since Nintendo’s presumed next-gen platform is expected to be significantly more powerful than their current handheld, it should be capable of handling a visually-intensive game like Avowed. Although it might not perform as well as on Xbox or PC, a Switch 2 port could offer an optimal way to enjoy Obsidian’s fantasy RPG while on the move.

Back then, the notion of playing an exclusive Xbox title like Avowed on a Nintendo Switch seemed unimaginable. However, with Microsoft’s surprising move to release four of their first-party games on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles this year, the possibilities are truly endless. Games such as Pentiment and Grounded, published by Xbox but developed by Obsidian, have already graced the Switch, so it’s not entirely far-fetched to envision Avowed joining the lineup on a Nintendo platform at some future date.

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2024-08-15 00:05