As you're playing through Xbox Game Studios' new role-playing game (RPG) Avowed and approach the end of the game, this is an important reminder that you should keep your pre-completion save files in case there's DLC or expansions in the future. Avowed has a fairly clear point of no return, and once you progress on into the endgame, you can't go back to find Totems you missed and finish up remaining side quests. You also can't keep playing after finishing the main story.
This is the same system that developer Obsidian Entertainment used in one of its prior RPGs, The Outer Worlds. When The Outer Worlds received DLC expansions in 2020 and 2021, these new adventures expanded the playable world with additional quests and mysteries, but if you'd finished the game already, you couldn't keep playing.
Will Avowed have DLC or expansions?
Right now, we don't actually know if Avowed will get a story expansion or any kind of playable DLC. The developers at Obsidian Entertainment have declined to completely confirm or deny it, meaning we're in a bit of a limbo right now. Until we know for sure, it's better to be safe rather than sorry. That means keeping your save files around, at least if you want to play with the same character.
On the other hand, having DLC arrive could be the perfect opportunity to start over and craft a new Envoy that has a different take on things. Because Avowed isn't hundreds of hours long like many large RPGs, it's more reasonable to replay, if you're so inclined.
Avowed is set in the Living Lands, a part of the world of Eora that Obsidian Entertainment first crafted for Pillars of Eternity. Avowed tells a new story in this world, but eagle-eyed fans will spot references to Pillars of Eternity and its sequel, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. It's possible that DLC or expansions could take us to new places in the Living Lands or even other parts of Eora, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.
If you haven't started playing it yet, check out our Avowed review, where my colleague Zachary Boddy wrote that "Avowed isn’t Obsidian’s take on Skyrim, but it does still possess that same hard-to-quantify magic that causes a random boulder in the distance to capture your attention, holding you steadfast until you give into the random urge to wander off the path you’ve chosen to go and investigate it up close."
Avowed launches on Feb. 18, 2025 across Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC via Steam, the Xbox App, and Battle.net. As an Xbox first-party game, the standard edition is included day one in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Anyone preordering the Premium Edition of the game can start playing early on February 13. For more details, consult our Avowed preorder guide.
