From Monster Hunter Wilds to Assassins' Creed Shadows, next February is menacingly setting its sights on my wallet and free time. Also releasing in that busy, busy period is Obsidian's next effort, Avowed, but its game director, Carrie Patel, isn't worrying about it. After all, you'll never get a launch month truly free from competition.
"The wonderful thing about the modern age, as a gamer, is you've always got great new stuff coming out," she tells GamesRadar+ in an interview. "I don't think you're ever going to find a window where absolutely nothing is coming out and you're going to be the only one out for a month. But we're very confident that Avowed is going to stand on its own.
"I'm very excited about a lot of those games coming out personally, and I think that we're also a very distinct experience from them. And so players who want an Obsidian-style RPG, with our approach to choice and consequence and our very nuanced take on narrative, are going to find exactly what they're looking for with Avowed. And the time that we've gotten in extending to February has just given us more time as a team to fix bugs and do those final tuning passes."
Thankfully, it looks like Avowed is coming together nicely. You can read all about it in our Avowed Big Preview, which will be updated with interview-based content, impressions, and videos over the next week or so. We've already spoken to the team about how Avowed is an Obsidian RPG first and foremost, despite the Skyrim comparisons, and how the game is designed to respect your time, as not all of us can squeeze in a 500-hour epic these days.
Avowed is set to release next year on February 18.