The gaming community still has yet to receive an official release date for Avowed, though some Xbox insiders have suggested it could release in early 2023. If it's released early next year (or even later, depending on other releases), it could be the first open-world RPG to release on Unreal Engine 5, and this could prove how UE5 would impact the open-world RPG genre.
Not much is known about Avowed in regard to story and gameplay, but fans have taken note that the lead VFX artist for Obsidian Entertainment, Aaron Dubois, is working with NiagraFX tools in Unreal Engine 5. Considering that Obsidian’s previous title, The Outer Worlds, was created using Unreal Engine 4, many gamers expect that Avowed will be made using Unreal Engine 5. Many announced RPGs have been delayed to 2023, such as Bethesda’s Starfield and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel, and Avowed may be among those released next year. Unless released later than expected, this means Avowed could essentially serve as a field test for UE5.
What Unreal Engine 5 Means for Avowed
There are a slew of new tools available in Unreal Engine 5 that make it suitable for the needs of many game development companies. The first noticeable advantage Avowed would likely have in terms of development is the Nanite function, a tool that would give game assets high definition without pop-in rendering or sacrificing frame rate.
Graphics rendering is a problem game creators have been trying to solve for a long time. Games in the past have had to limit the amount of detail in their environments, suffer from framerate drop in high detail spaces, and would even have to extend loading times for different areas. This means Avowed could have smooth, high-definition assets that don't interrupt gameplay.
Unreal Engine 5 could also help the Avowed developer behind the scenes too by aggregating the tools it needs into a highly accessible User Interface. UE5 allows creators to build game elements like dynamic lighting and character animation quickly and cheaply in contrast to most other engines. This cuts development time down in theory and could give Obsidian Entertainment more time to focus on playtesting and corrections to reduce the number of bugs at launch.
Unreal Engine 5 and the Future of Open-World RPGs
Avowed could to be a proof of concept, not only as a test for the Unreal Engine 5 in an open-world RPG, but also for many open-world games in the future. Many developers have opted to use UE5 in the future instead of in-house creation engines; CD Projekt RED, for example, has confirmed The Witcher 4 will be made using UE5 despite having its in-house RED creation engine. UE5's high accessibility and ease of workflow make it appealing even to smaller independent studios, and if Avowed is a success, gamers could see more titles like it in the future from a wide variety of creators.
Obsidian is well versed in having unique twists on established RPG genres, notably having large success with the post-apocalyptic genre in Fallout: New Vegas and the space genre in The Outer Worlds. There’s no certainty that another UE5-developer open-world RPG won't beat Avowed to the punch, but as it stands, it seems Obsidian and UE5 could set the tone for the future of what open-world RPGs have in store.
Avowed is in development for PC and Xbox Series X.