Even with a turbulent development, Avowed proves the strength of Obsidian - a smaller, but extremely efficient studio.

With half the size of other AAA giants, Obsidian continues to deliver great RPGs

Creating a large-scale game is no easy feat, and Avowed, the new RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, is a great example of that. After six years of development, two reboots, and several changes in direction, the game was finally released on February 18, 2025, and received positive reception, with 80% approval on Metacritic. Despite some controversies on social media, the critics were favorable, and here at IGN Brazil, the title received a score of 8.5. But what many don't know is that this journey was much more chaotic than it seems.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Avowed went through two major reboots before reaching the final version. The project started in 2018, when Obsidian was still looking for buyers before being acquired by Microsoft. Initially, the idea was to create a multiplayer online RPG that mixed elements of Destiny and Skyrim. However, this concept did not hold up, and the team decided to revamp everything – leading to the first reboot.

Even after this revamp, the game was still not going well, which forced a second reboot. It was then that director Carrie Patel took over the project in 2021 and gave a new vision to the game, focusing more on story and connection to the Pillars of Eternity universe. In addition, the idea of a completely open world was replaced by a semi-open world with more dense and distinct "zones", a concept similar to what Obsidian had already explored in The Outer Worlds.

"I've seen this happen in every project I've been a part of: things get messy, very messy… and then start to come together", said Patel.
"The question is: how can we get to that point of organization earlier?"

Small, but powerful – Obsidian is half the size of many AAA studios

Despite many difficulties, Avowed became a milestone for Obsidian, a studio that has half the size of many other market giants. In an interview with IGN US, CEO Feargus Urquhart revealed that the studio has about 300 employees – a much smaller number than other competitors.

"When we joined Xbox Game Studios, we had between 170 and 180 people", stated Urquhart.
"Over the past few years, we've increased to about 285 employees and have also partnered with studios like Heavy Iron and Beamdog."

For comparison:

• Bethesda: +450 employees
• CD Projekt Red: +600 employees
• Naughty Dog: +400 employees
• Larian Studios (Baldur’s Gate 3): +470 employees
   

Even though smaller, Obsidian is extremely productive. In the last five years, the studio has released three games – Grounded, Pentiment, and Avowed – and still has The Outer Worlds 2 scheduled for 2025.

During a panel at the D.I.C.E Summit 2025 event, vice presidents Marcus Morgan and Justin Britch highlighted that Obsidian seeks sustainable and long-term growth, with low employee turnover and a planning that considers moderate success, not just big blockbusters.

Stability and promising future

Unlike other studios that bet everything on a single game and lay off employees massively if the project is not a complete success, Obsidian seems to have found a more stable and healthy model. Since being acquired by Microsoft, the studio has managed to stay firm, without major crises or cuts.

And the results show that this model can work. Pentiment, for example, was a small game, but extremely well-received by critics and players. Grounded also found a loyal audience, and The Outer Worlds was even nominated for Game of the Year in 2019.

In the end, Avowed is a symbol of what Obsidian does best: adaptation, creativity, and consistency. Even facing difficulties in development, the studio managed to deliver a solid and well-reviewed RPG, showing that it's not always necessary to have a gigantic budget to create great games.