Xbox boss says Avowed is "very different" from Elder Scrolls 6

Avowed
(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has offered a little more context on where Avowed stands in Xbox's surprisingly broad lineup of fantasy RPGs, which may help make up for it being a no-show at the Xbox E3 2021 event.

During an interview with IGN's Podcast Unlocked, Spencer was asked if Avowed will serve as a sort of Elder Scrolls for Xbox Game Studios while The Elder Scrolls 6 is still far off, after Bethesda Game Studios boss Todd Howard recently confirmed that Elder Scrolls 6 is still in the design phase.

"I think the games are very different, so maybe I struggle a little bit to say that's our version of this, just knowing what [Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart] and the team are going off to do," Spencer answered. "But when I think about our lineup, and I think about that more core fantasy RPG setting, I think Avowed is gonna be an awesome entrance there."

Spencer compared Avowed's place in the lineup to Fable, which has always been "a little more light-hearted, and a little more British," and which he thinks Playground will continue with Fable 4. And whenever Elder Scrolls 6 does finally come out, Spencer of course believes "it's gonna be incredible."

"I think Avowed, from just a core fantasy-based RPG, there's gonna be some distinct differences with what Elder Scrolls has done traditionally, this one obviously takes place in the Pillars world and stuff [...] I think Avowed is gonna be fantastic when it comes out, and I want to give them the time and resources to build the most amazing game they've ever built," Spencer added.

While Avowed wasn't part of Xbox's recent festivities, another first-person RPG from Obsidian did make its presence known. We got our very first look at The Outer Worlds 2 during the event, and it looks like it's all set to dive even deeper into the unique blend of unfamiliar worlds, retro sci-fi, and tongue in cheek humor that we found so captivating in the first game.

See what else is coming down the pike for Microsoft with our big guide to upcoming Xbox Series X games.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

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