Microsoft officially delays Obsidian's RPG Avowed to give "backlogs some breathing room"

Avowed, the upcoming Obsidian Entertainment-developed role-playing experience, is not releasing in 2024 anymore. Microsoft made the delay official via its Xbox social channels today with a short announcement, pushing the Xbox exclusive game to 2025 instead.

"So many games coming! As such, we're moving Avowed to Feb 18, 2025 to give players’ backlogs some breathing room," says the post on the X platform by Xbox. The comment implies that the delay is not related to any development or polishing issues, and that it's simply to take the game away from the crunch of games that are releasing near the end of 2024.

A recent report from The Verge said this delay would be incoming soon too, and also added that this was a strategic move being planned by the publisher and developer to give it more breathing room.

The latter half of 2024 is bringing games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, possibly the Indiana Jones title, Flight Simulator 2024, Age of Mythology: Retold, Star Wars Outlaws, Astro Bot, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and many other heavy hitters.

While Avowed has not had a firm release date attached to it, Obsidian gave it a fall 2024 launch window at the start of this year. But now, Pillars of Eternity fans will be waiting a little while longer to get their hands on the title.

Microsoft plans to show off more of Avowed during its August 23 livestream at Gamescom. The publisher has already revealed it will have a massive presence at this year's Gamescom tradeshow in Cologne, Germany. It will feature fresh looks, hands-on opportunities, and more for titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Starfield Shattered Space, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Age of Mythology: Retold, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, and much more, all in addition to Avowed.