What you need to know
- Avowed is a role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios.
- In addition to launching across Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC via the Xbox Store and Steam, Avowed will be available through Battle.net.
- This marks a first for Blizzard Entertainment's PC storefront, as it's previously been limited to Activision Blizzard titles.
- Avowed is slated to launch on Feb. 18, 2025, with five-day early access for anyone that preorders the Premium Edition or Steelbook Edition of the game.
The next big game to launch on Blizzard Entertainment's storefront isn't published by Activision or Blizzard.
Xbox Game Studios and Obsidian Entertainment's upcoming fantasy role-playing game Avowed is coming to Battle.net day one, as shared via Xbox Wire on Thursday. This marks a first for Blizzard and for Xbox, with the former's PC store previously dedicated solely to Activision Blizzard titles such as the Call of Duty, Diablo, and World of Warcraft franchises.
You can check out the preorder trailer for Avowed below:
In addition to the standard edition which is available for preorder for $70 (and is the version included in Game Pass) Avowed is also getting a Premium Edition and physical Steelbook Edition for $90 and $95, respectively. These versions of the game bundle in a handful of goodies and include five-day early access, meaning you'll be able to start playing Avowed on February 13 instead.
After being delayed out of 2024 due to a stacked lineup of games launching close together, Avowed is now launching on Feb. 18, 2025 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (via Steam, PC Game Pass, and Battle.net) and will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
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Analysis: An experiment, or something else?
I'm not at all opposed to seeing additional Xbox first-party games on Battle.net, even if they haven't been developed by Activision or Blizzard.
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Cross-promoting games and franchises from across the different Xbox publishing arms just makes sense, especially with PC Game Pass being integrated with Battle.net for games like Diablo 4 and StarCraft 2.
I am curious about the timing however, and why Avowed is the chosen game to kick things off here. Is it simply because it's the first Xbox game launching in 2025, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle were too close to launch?
If that's the case, then how far does it go? Delays can and almost certainly will happen, but Xbox currently has a hefty slate of games coming in 2025. Are they going to wait for the data from Avowed on Battle.net before launching another non-Blizzard title on the platform, or can we expect to see DOOM: The Dark Ages, Fable, South of Midnight, all arrive on Blizzard's store? I have no clue, but I'm excited to find out.
I'm also just really excited to play Avowed. My colleague Zachary Boddy got to check out a preview build, and from everything they experienced during Gamescom 2024, this is going to be another amazing experience from Obsidian Entertainment.
