Skip to main content

Avowed’s release date remains under wraps after the Xbox Games Showcase

A player casting an ice spell in Avowed
Xbox Game Studios
Summer Gaming Marathon Feature Image
This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

The latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, Avowed, showed up at the Xbox Games Showcase with a new trailer but without a release date.

After a showing at the Developer Direct earlier in the year, Avowed hit the Xbox Games Showcase stage to show off a new trailer highlighting the story of the Living Lands, but not when players can expect to visit them. Your character is tasked by the Emperor to find the source of what is called the “Dream Scourge” and find a way to resolve it. Of course, things don’t seem to be as black-and-white as that, and others believe there is another cause for what is happening on that remote island. Yet another voice tries to convince you both are deciding you. It will be up to you to decide whose side you take.

[4K] Xbox Games Showcase Followed by Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct

Clips of the gameplay don’t show anything new, but once again highlight the various options the player will have in combat. Swords and shields, spells, guns, and bows are all available and can be swapped on the fly during battles. There was also a decent amount of platforming across gaps and through traps and hazards.

Avowed is set in the world of Eora, which was established in Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity series. Despite that, you do not need to play either of those games to understand the events of Avowed because it takes place on an island not explored in those games. There are likely to be references and details in place for those who know the world, but we still do not know if Avowed takes place prior to, during, or after the events of those games.

Avowed is a PC and Xbox console exclusive, and will be available on Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam or Game Pass whenever it launches in 2024.

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…
Herdling is an indie game that Panic hopes is the next Firewatch
The player pets a creature in Herdling.

Herdling, a charming new indie game where players have to guide creatures up a mountain, was revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live. It's developed by Okomotive, the game developer behind Far: Changing Tides and Far: Lone Sails, and published by Panic, the publisher behind Untitled Goose Game, Firewatch, and the Playdate handheld.

In Herdling, players guide a variety of unique-looking fantasy creatures called Calicorns up a mountain. It's a single-player game in which the main challenge is herding and protecting the Calicorns players encounter as they solve puzzles and ascend the mountain. We see some of that in the game's reveal trailer, in addition to stampede sequences with a greater sense of speed that will pop up throughout the adventure.

Read more
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is more than Xbox’s Uncharted
Indiana Jones rappels into a tomb in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Creating an Indiana Jones video game is a daunting task. It’s not just that you have to honor an iconic film franchise that fans are very protective of; you also need to make it stand out from Uncharted, a beloved series that is already ostensibly a thinly veiled Indiana Jones adaptation. It’s a challenge, but one that MachineGames seems to have cracked with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Ahead of its latest trailer reveal at Gamescom Opening Night Live, I got a deeper look into the upcoming action-adventure game. While previous looks have focused on story, the latest presentation gives a much deeper look into its combat, exploration, and more. While there are some parallels to Uncharted, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feels more indebted to Wolfenstein, Hitman, and even The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. That makes it feel much more like an Indiana Jones game than a boilerplate tomb-raiding adventure.
Tools of the trade
Set after Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Great Circle begins at Marshall College, where someone steals a priceless relic. Jones teams up with photojournalist Gina to recover it, only to discover that there’s a wider conspiracy at play that goes through Nazi territory. With the help of some companions, they set out on a globe-trotting adventure that involves the villainous Emmerich Voss and the titular Great Circle, a ring that connects the world’s biggest landmarks (an idea that came from producer Todd Howard).

Read more
New Dune: Awakening gameplay trailer showcases the dangerous world of Arrakis
Players running from a massive sandworm in Dune: Awakening.

Dune: Awakening, the upcoming survival MMO, received a new gameplay breakdown at Gamescom Opening Night Live. Developed by Funcom, Dune: Awakening features a vast sandbox for players to fight, build, trade, and more.

During the new gameplay trailer, we saw how players can interact with each other -- players can customize their appearance, socialize with other players, build homes, and even sell their building blueprints to others, building a unique player economy.

Read more