Chris Avellone claims Obsidian’s Avowed keeps losing key developers: “Not a good sign”
Obsidian Entertainment might be experiencing some hardships during the development of its upcoming RPG Avowed. That’s according to Chris Avellone, who claimed that the project keeps losing leads.
Avowed
Chris Avellone shared his insights on the current situation at Obsidian when asked why he won’t join the studio to work on Avowed.
The famous game writer claimed that the project has lost a few key developers, and it is “not a good sign.” If Avellone’s information is true, lead designer and art lead were moved to work on Grounded, while the project director was replaced. Lead level designer, lead designer, and some other people quit, “according to grapevine.”
They keep losing leads on that project, not a good sign
— Chris Avellone (@ChrisAvellone) September 1, 2021
“It’s generally unusual for people to quit in the middle of a project, it’s generally not well regarded in the industry unless there’s mitigating factors (family sick),” Avellone explained his concerns about Avowed.
He also went on to say that the fact that Josh Sawyer decided to not work on the game “probably says enough.”
You said insiders said it’s “on track,” but I don’t know what that means.
I have heard the new Project Lead is much better, but I admittedly was curious what the Farcry writer would have done if he hadn’t quit.
Also, Oscuro quitting was a huge loss for the studio, too.
— Chris Avellone (@ChrisAvellone) September 1, 2021
Avowed was announced in 2019 with a short minute-long teaser. The release date or any other details about the game haven’t been revealed yet.
Chris Avellone co-founded Obsidian Entertainment in 2003 along with his Black Isle colleagues Feargus Urquhart, Chris Parker, Chris Jones, and Darren Monahan. He worked on games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Never Winter Nights 2, and Fallout: New Vegas before leaving the studio in 2015 due to a conflict with its management.
In 2020, Avellone was accused of sexual misconduct and lost his job at several studios. The game designer and writer finally addressed the allegations in June, filing a libel lawsuit against women who accused him.
