Avowed Never Needed to Be the Next Skyrim—And That’s Its Real Strength

By 2026, the conversation around Obsidian Entertainment’s fantasy RPG Avowed has cooled into something more honest. When the game launched in February 2025, it arrived with years of Skyrim comparisons strapped to its back like an old backpack nobody asked it to carry. But the game itself never wanted that job.

Look, we all love Skyrim. The new Elder Scrolls game has been missing in action since its 2018 announcement, back when E3 still existed. Fans have been hankering for something to scratch that Skyrim itch, and Bethesda hasn’t exactly been providing. Starfield was far from “Skyrim in space,” and Fallout 4 left plenty of players with mixed feelings. So it’s no surprise that Avowed, Obsidian’s fantasy RPG, couldn’t sidestep the constant comparisons.

Avowed Does Not Want to Be Skyrim

Visually, there are surface-level similarities too. The settings seem relatively realistic, with touches of magical wonder. There are weird non-human dudes. There’s lots of nature. The combat feels familiar. And, let’s be real, the vibes are correct.

But the developers have taken pains to distance themselves from those comparisons, saying the game is more like The Outer Worlds. Because it sits closer to Obsidian’s very good space RPG in scope and focus, Avowed uses open zones instead of a massive open world like Skyrim’s. It’s trying to strike a balance between its strengths in writing and storytelling while still offering plenty of meaningful side content to derail players from the main narrative. It’s exploration-focused, yes, but it’s also focused on choices and consequences.

That distinction matters more than some players want to admit. Avowed has never tried to wear Skyrim’s oversized boots. It would rather dig deep than sprint across a continent.

Everything Is Like Skyrim Now

Okay, fine, it’s a little disingenuous to pretend nobody understands the longing. People love Skyrim for good reason. They want a game that’s like Skyrim but different so they can feel awed all over again. But Avowed was never going to be that game.

The things that made Skyrim special are now all over the triple-A space. So many open world games have followed in its footsteps, broadening their worlds and leaning on sandbox-y flexibility. That ship sailed back in 2011. No game can really replicate the feeling of playing Skyrim for the first time because that moment has already happened and left its mark on the entire industry.

Avowed wants to go deep instead, and that’s valuable too. It probably won’t be the game-changer that Skyrim was, and that’s fine.

The Real Bet

The more interesting bet is seeing Obsidian’s iconic writing prowess in a fantasy setting rather than receiving yet another sprawling game marked by size and technological innovation instead of a sharp story. Obsidian has already worked with Bethesda in the past on Fallout: New Vegas to great success, and the studio’s strengths have always been about consequence, personality, and narrative texture—not infinite map icons.

Why would anyone want Obsidian, a studio with vastly different strengths than Bethesda, to make a spiritual sequel to Skyrim when Bethesda is already making a real sequel? More to the point, why ask for another Skyrim when Skyrim already exists?

By 2026, the main lesson is clear. Avowed isn’t Skyrim, and it was never going to be. Whether it lives up to the more reasonable expectations fans have for it remains a fair conversation, but at least it’s having that conversation on its own terms.