WhenAvowedwas revealed last year, fans of both Obsidian and Bethesda were quick to notice the similarities between the upcoming RPG andThe Elder Scrollsgames. Not only that, but Obsidian had already revealed more about its upcoming project than Bethesda has revealed aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6since its announcement in 2018. Many concluded that, as withThe Outer WorldsandFallout, Obsidian was developing another first-person RPG to attract Bethesda fans who felt dissatisfied with the studio’s recent releases, or lack thereof.
Despite appearances,Avowedcould end up being a huge asset forThe Elder Scrolls 6’s development. Here’s why Bethesda’s apparent rival could actually be its greatest ally, and what all this could mean when the nextElder Scrollsgame finally arrives.
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Obsidian Entertainment And Bethesda
Although Obsidian returned to CRPGs withPillars of Eternity, and has more recently branched out with games likeGrounded, its first-person RPG credentials were established in collaboration with Bethesda during the development ofFallout: New Vegas. AlthoughNew Vegasremains the only Obsidian-developed first-person RPG based on a Bethesda IP, it is still beloved among manyFalloutfans, and gave Obsidian developers direct experience working within Bethesda’s formula.
A controversial contractual clause endedBethesda and Obsidian’s relationshipon a sour note, but it also gave Obsidian a unique opportunity:Fallout:New Vegassolidified Obsidian’s strong reputation as a developer able to take the Bethesda RPG formula and create games with more traditional RPG elements, witty dialogue, and a narrative complexity that called back to the originalFalloutCRPGs. Those games might not have the same mass appeal as a game likeSkyrim, but for a cross-section of the market that found the stories in Bethesda’sFalloutandElder Scrollsgames lacking, Obsidian was the next big hope.
Although contentious in the past, the unique history between Obsidian and Bethesda now presents and opportunity for both studios. Obsidian has the chance to draw disaffected or increasingly impatient Bethesda fans to its smaller-budget first-person RPG projectslikeThe Outer WorldsandAvowed. Bethesda, on the other hand, has the opportunity to look atAvowedwhen it releasesfor a clear example of the RPG formula Bethesda uses being executed on current-generation hardware. WithoutAvowed, the last major first-person fantasy RPG for Bethesda to look back on would beSkyrimitself, a game just months away from its ten-year anniversary.
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Innovation With Avowed
IfAvowedends up having a particularly innovative combat system that rivalsThe Elder Scrolls' simple combat system, for example, there’s nothing to stopThe Elder Scrolls 6integrating similar mechanics. If an aspect ofAvowedis met with criticism,The Elder Scrolls 6can attempt to avoid similar criticism in advance. With most predictions placingAvowed’s release at some point in the next couple of years, andThe Elder Scrolls 6’s release datepotentially around 2025 or 2026, Bethesda could have several years to learn fromAvowed’s successes and mistakes.
The trailer forAvowedshows the first-person perspective of a character drawing a magical symbol in the air before summoning a spell into one of their hands. This could hint at some sort of rune drawing system connected to more complex magic mechanics thanSkyrim’s. Back in Marchleaker Tiffany Treadmoresuggested that “Elder Scrolls 6will include new ‘Rune Drawing’ functionality.” While she said this feature was yet to be confirmed, it is likely that both Bethesda and Obsidian are looking for ways to make their first-person magic and combat systems feel like a generational step forward fromSkyrim’s.
The fact that the mainElder Scrollsseries has been dormant for nearly a decade puts the pressure on bothAvowedandThe Elder Scrolls 6to solve some of the main criticisms ofgames likeSkyrim. This doesn’t just include the game’s simple, repetitive combat and spell systems, but the weaknesses of its main narrative, the formulaic similarities between the faction quests, the lack of follower depth, and more.Avowedwill take on both the advantages and risks of going first, and will likely attempt to address some ofSkyrim’s main criticisms directly, to avoid the greater potential criticism thatAvowedadds little to theSkyrimformula ten years on.
First-Person Fantasy’s Future
ThroughAvowed, Bethesdacould be presented with ways to address some ofThe Elder Scrolls' most common criticisms without lifting a finger. IfAvoweddoesn’t end up presenting solutions toSkyrim’s common criticisms or feel like it drags the first-person RPG formula into the current generation, it’s unlikely to be much of a threat toThe Elder Scrolls 6anyway. AlthoughThe Elder Scrolls 6is a very high-stakes endeavor for Bethesda,Avowedcould reveal at least part of the path forward, even if it only manages to improve on a few aspects of the formula.
In fact, while many considerAvowedto be a threat to The Elder Scrolls' dominance over the first-person fantasy genre, the game is far more likely to put Obsidian in peril if it doesn’t end up drawing enough players.Avowedis set in the world of Eora from Obsidian’sPillars of EternityCRPGs, and the move to the more mainstream first-person format was partially motivated by a desire to attract a broader player base to the studio’s critically successful but financially struggling series.
Avoweddoesn’t ensure the success ofThe Elder Scrolls 6, but it does make the gargantuan task Bethesda faces living up to fan expectations just a little bit more manageable.Avowed’s success could be just as beneficial to Bethesda in the long-run as Obsidian, providing a far more recent template for a popular first-person fantasyRPG Bethesdawill be able to work off of with a large budget and several years of development time. The competition could be good for RPG fans as well, preventing the first-person RPG genre from becoming stagnant and creating a wider variety of stories and settings.
