Avowed now has a bunch more possibilities when it comes to one of the most important fantasy RPG build archetypes, thanks to the deployment of its anniversary update. Three new character races are on offer alongside the established humans and elves, and you can arm them with a quarterstaff which caters to mages who think puny wands and books aren't quite showy enough.
As you might recall, some of the stuff included in this anniversary update was orignally supposed to arrive in Avowed late last year, but ended up being delayed by Obsidian.
Marking the first birthday of Obsidian’s Avowed, the game is out now for PlayStation 5, and a meaty anniversary update has been released for the game on PC and Xbox Series X|S. The game is also now available through the regular Xbox Game Pass tier, having originally been tied to ‘Day One’ elligible tiers.*
On a high level, the anniversary update has added three new races that you can create your character as – dwarves, orlan and aumaua – and there’s a new quarterstaff weapon that you can adopt.
While the game wasn’t designed with it in mind, New Game Plus has also been added for anyone that has a save that’s passed the point of no return and beaten the game. Starting over, the only real caveat is that weapon levelling will not persist, but that’s fine because you’ll be nice and mighty in other ways.
And you can show off how mighty you are with a photo mode to capture specific moments while you’re playing.
Avowed was one of the highlights for Xbox and PC gamers last year, though one a little overlooked for launching in February and perhaps not being as broad as some might have liked, following on from the PIllars of Eternity games. “Avowed is an incredible RPG,” we said in our review. “Its vibrant world and stellar cast make every moment a joy to take part in, enhanced by a script that gives equal measure to drama, action and humour. Coming hot on the heels of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Microsoft’s software revival is well underway.”
Features and Improvements
New Game+
New Game Plus is now available after completing the main story. This mode is designed to reward mastery, experimentation, and making the all-powerful build. When starting a New Game Plus save, players will bring along with them:
All unlocked abilities (with the exception of godlike abilities which are gained through story progression/world exploration)
All spent attribute points
All unique weapons and armors—but they are reset to level 1
All unlocked enchantments remain
All unique gloves and boots
All necklaces, all rings, and all trinkets
Any equipped Common Weapons or Armor items are kept, but they are reset to level 1
The following are removed from the player at the start of a New Game Plus:
All common weapons and armor that aren’t equipped
Companions must be picked up via story progression
Companions keep their talent points and start at level 1
All resources that had been collected
Gold
Upgrade materials
Enchanting materials
Food ingredients
All consumables that had been collected
All potions
All food
All quest items
All god totems/trinkets
Fast travel points/fog of war
The aforementioned godlike abilities
To ensure challenge scales alongside player power:
Enemy stats are increased across the board
Enemies now have a chance to have modifiers applied to them
Elemental Modifiers
Fire: Immune to Fire damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Fire damage.
Frost: Immune to Frost damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Frost damage.
Shock: Immune to Shock damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Shock damage.
Poison: Immune to Poison damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Poison damage.
Bleed: Immune to Bleed damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Bleed damage.
Physical Modifiers
Haste: Increased movement speed, attack speed, and reduced cooldown timers
Glass Cannon: Increased damage dealt and damage received
Colossal: Increased maximum health
Life Steal: Attacks restore the enemy’s health by a percentage of the damage dealt
Crippled: Reduced movement speed and attack speed
Sturdy: Increased stability making it harder for them to be stunned
Natural Immunity: Immune to all status accumulations
Forceful: Increased impact on attacks
Vindictive: Increased damage dealt based on the amount of health lost
Attribute stat cap rises from 15 to 30
An important note for those who have already completed Avowed: Since New Game Plus is being added post release and the game was not initially designed with it in mind, a completion save will be necessary in order to take advantage of the mode. You will need to load a point of no return save or later and beat the game to make a proper New Game Plus save.
New Playable Species
Included in the anniversary update is a major expansion to character creation: three new playable species join the existing Humans and Elves.
Dwarves – The most well-traveled species in Eora, the stout dwarves are known for their great strength and tenacity.
Orlans – Their two-toned skin, prominent ears, and hirsute bodies all in the smallest size of Kith make them stand outs in Eora.
Aumaua – Towering, powerfully built, and physically imposing.
Not only do the different species change how you look, the team has also added in stat bonuses for all species adding another layer to character creation.
Humans
+1 Might
+1 Resolve
Elves
+1 Dexterity
+1 Perception
Aumaua
+2 Might
Dwarves
+1 Might
+1 Constitution
Orlans
+1 Perception
+1 Resolve
Additionally, players will receive stat bonuses depending on their chosen background.
Arcane Scholar – +2 to Intellect
Court Augur – +2 to Resolve
Noble Scion – +2 to Perception
Vanguard Scout – +2 to Dexterity
War Hero – +2 to Constitution
Improved Character Creation
Added new Godlike features, color variants, and presets
Custom Difficulty
For players who want even finer control, Avowed now includes custom difficulty modifiers, allowing you to tune the game’s systems to your preferred experience. These new options are found by scrolling down through the “Game” tab of the settings menu. Adjust player:
Damage dealt
Health, stamina, and essence resources
Elemental status effect threshold
Health and essence regeneration rates
Potion and food restoration rates
Interrupt or knockdown ease
Second Wind cooldown time
Carry capacity
Parry window
Adjust enemy:
Damage output
Health pool
Stun, interrupt, or knockdown ease
Attack speed
Elemental status effect threshold
Aggro threshold
Adjust companion:
Damage dealt
Health max
Elemental status effect threshold
Aggro threshold
As well as general adjustments:
Merchant prices
Equipment upgrade material costs
Fall damage
Trap damage
Item quality damage reduction
Important note: While changing these options will not negate most achievements that you may be hunting down, they will invalidate a Path of the Damned achievement. That achievement must be done without use of the custom game options.
Photo Mode
Capture your envoy, companions, and the Living Lands from any angle and share your journey. Includes a free or fixed camera, filters, character rotation and toggle, post-process effects, and gradients. Photo Mode is accessed from the pause menu.
New Weapon
A brand new weapon type is joining the arsenal with the quarterstaff. Designed with the archmage fantasy in mind, the quarterstaff is a new bludgeoning weapon that comes complete with wand style stun finishers. Unleash brutal physical combos along with a fury of spells that would make even Concelhaut jealous.
New Stun Finishers
New stun finishers added for One-Handed Weapons and Two-Handed Weapons.
Respawning Encounters
Respawning encounters have been added to Dawnshore, Emerald Stair, Shatterscarp, and Galawain’s Tusks.
New Quality of Life Features
Players can now change their Envoy’s appearance after character creation via the mirror in the party camp.
Newly placed workbenches allow players to upgrade gear without returning to party camp.
All player Backgrounds now have an added attribute bonus.
Added option to end dream conversations early.
Powder keg chain reactions now occur with a short delay, instead of all exploding simultaneously.
Increased max Controller Vibration Intensity (in the Controller Settings menu) from 1.0 to 2.0.
Added keyboard-based turning in accessibility options.
Improvements to Lighting
The lighting has been improved across all regions.
Improved the lighting in conversations.
Graphics
Updated XeSS to 2.1. Xe Frame Generation, Xe Super Resolution, and Xe Low-Latency mode are now available to more GPUs.
All Bug Fixes Crashes and stability
The game should now longer crash after Fog of War has been cleared.
Addressed an issue causing Barbaric Smash killing blow VFX to remain on the player indefinitely
Fixed an issue when creating save games that could cause NPCs to be stuck when reloading
Performance and Optimizations
Resolved an issue where NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency was missing “Off” option while upscaling is disabled.
Ray tracing is now off by default on Handheld PCs.
Added Mid Luminance values to HDR settings.
Various performance improvements.
Animation
Fixed an issue with the Two-Handed Axe special attack not being aligned while in third person view.
Companion animations no longer stutter during conversations and exploration.
Audio
All audio should now play properly when cooking.
Quests & Conversations
Decals for puzzle in Sallow Steppe should now render properly.
The camera should behave normally during conversation with Tazaraak.
UI/UX
Ability and Grimoire Cost Discounts are now shown in the Character tab of the Ledger, as well as the maximum (-90%) available.
Fixed Tanglefoot’s icon on Player’s and enemy’s HUD.
New Icon added to help distinguish Flurry of Blows on enemy’s HUD.
Text should no longer overlap tabs in certain languages.
Fixed description for several active abilities that were incorrectly labeled as passive.
Resolved an issue where “confirm override” pop-up was not showing while switching presets in the Extras tab.
Fixed an issue where Marius’ Hunter Sense disappeared from hotbar after leaving Party Camp.
Vital bars are showing proper preview values for some skills when upgraded.
Fixed an issue where “Survivalist” ability did not reflect additional bonuses in UI.
Blunted hits no longer include blood VFX when “Combat Blood” is disabled.
Combat/Systems Fixes
Fixed issue where various Area of Effect sources like Arcane Veil interfered with aiming player spells.
Swinging guillotines in the Garden remain disabled after loading a save.
Fixed an issue where Yatzli’s Explosive Blast did not break destructibles.
Some unique weapon enchantments now work properly while Dual Wield Mastery is active.
Already broken destructibles no longer receive damage numbers.
Loot now directly drops at the feet of a shattered frozen enemy.
* If you need Xbox Game Pass tiers to be explained for being too complicated, then I suggest writing to your MP and Satya Nadella to complain.
You remember Avowed, don’t you? Well, it’s now a full year old, which means it’s old enough that it’s time to finally decide whether you’re ever going to finish the game or if it will forever sit on your list of dropped titles. And Obsidian Entertainment is giving you a reason to return to Eora, wherever you left off.
The developer is celebrating Avowed’s anniversary with an update chock full of new features, and that update will be available across all platforms—including PlayStation 5. Among the features in the update are three new playable races and additional customization options, a photo mode, a new weapon type, and a host of quality-of-life improvements. It’s the game’s largest update yet, and the list of additions more than proves it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtoGSz4Kv1o
Originally, players could pick from elves or humans as their race, but now, they also have access to Dwarves, Orlans, and Aumaua. If you don’t remember what those last two are, think Yatzli and Kai. And luckily for players who already dropped a gazillion hours into the game, you won’t actually have to make a new playthrough to experience those three races; you can instead just change it through a mirror system.
Avowed was one of those games that I played but never ended up finishing. And it’s not because I thought it was a bad game by any means. I loved my time adventuring with Kai and Marius at my side, finding hidden totems, and sight-seeing around Eora. But as with any open-world game, especially one I’m grinding for work, burnout starts to creep in after a week of playing, and my resolve to pick up a controller once more dips lower and lower with each passing day.
But the latest trailer for the anniversary update makes me actually want to jump back in, and no, I don’t think it’s only because of the music’s catchy gun-cock percussion or rapid-fire visuals of Eora’s beautiful sights and scenes—though both of those things are pretty cool, if I do say so myself. In addition to the new playable races and weapons, Obsidian is adding a few new stat changes and custom difficulty modifiers, which allow you to tailor the game’s difficulty to your preferred playstyle. Plus, there’s the photo mode, and I have to admit, I’m a sucker for spending way too long finding the perfect angle and pose to make my characters look devilishly stunning.
So, what say you, Destructoid? Will you be giving Avowed another go, or is it one that’s better left in 2025? Let me know in the comments below.
Marking the first birthday of Obsidian’s Avowed, the game is out now for PlayStation 5, and a meaty anniversary update has been released for the game on PC and Xbox Series X|S. The game is also now available through the regular Xbox Game Pass tier, having originally been tied to ‘Day One’ elligible tiers.*
On a high level, the anniversary update has added three new races that you can create your character as – dwarves, orlan and aumaua – and there’s a new quarterstaff weapon that you can adopt.
While the game wasn’t designed with it in mind, New Game Plus has also been added for anyone that has a save that’s passed the point of no return and beaten the game. Starting over, the only real caveat is that weapon levelling will not persist, but that’s fine because you’ll be nice and mighty in other ways.
And you can show off how mighty you are with a photo mode to capture specific moments while you’re playing.
Avowed was one of the highlights for Xbox and PC gamers last year, though one a little overlooked for launching in February and perhaps not being as broad as some might have liked, following on from the PIllars of Eternity games. “Avowed is an incredible RPG,” we said in our review. “Its vibrant world and stellar cast make every moment a joy to take part in, enhanced by a script that gives equal measure to drama, action and humour. Coming hot on the heels of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Microsoft’s software revival is well underway.”
Features and Improvements
New Game+
New Game Plus is now available after completing the main story. This mode is designed to reward mastery, experimentation, and making the all-powerful build. When starting a New Game Plus save, players will bring along with them:
All unlocked abilities (with the exception of godlike abilities which are gained through story progression/world exploration)
All spent attribute points
All unique weapons and armors—but they are reset to level 1
All unlocked enchantments remain
All unique gloves and boots
All necklaces, all rings, and all trinkets
Any equipped Common Weapons or Armor items are kept, but they are reset to level 1
The following are removed from the player at the start of a New Game Plus:
All common weapons and armor that aren’t equipped
Companions must be picked up via story progression
Companions keep their talent points and start at level 1
All resources that had been collected
Gold
Upgrade materials
Enchanting materials
Food ingredients
All consumables that had been collected
All potions
All food
All quest items
All god totems/trinkets
Fast travel points/fog of war
The aforementioned godlike abilities
To ensure challenge scales alongside player power:
Enemy stats are increased across the board
Enemies now have a chance to have modifiers applied to them
Elemental Modifiers
Fire: Immune to Fire damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Fire damage.
Frost: Immune to Frost damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Frost damage.
Shock: Immune to Shock damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Shock damage.
Poison: Immune to Poison damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Poison damage.
Bleed: Immune to Bleed damage and accumulation. Attacks also now deal Bleed damage.
Physical Modifiers
Haste: Increased movement speed, attack speed, and reduced cooldown timers
Glass Cannon: Increased damage dealt and damage received
Colossal: Increased maximum health
Life Steal: Attacks restore the enemy’s health by a percentage of the damage dealt
Crippled: Reduced movement speed and attack speed
Sturdy: Increased stability making it harder for them to be stunned
Natural Immunity: Immune to all status accumulations
Forceful: Increased impact on attacks
Vindictive: Increased damage dealt based on the amount of health lost
Attribute stat cap rises from 15 to 30
An important note for those who have already completed Avowed: Since New Game Plus is being added post release and the game was not initially designed with it in mind, a completion save will be necessary in order to take advantage of the mode. You will need to load a point of no return save or later and beat the game to make a proper New Game Plus save.
New Playable Species
Included in the anniversary update is a major expansion to character creation: three new playable species join the existing Humans and Elves.
Dwarves – The most well-traveled species in Eora, the stout dwarves are known for their great strength and tenacity.
Orlans – Their two-toned skin, prominent ears, and hirsute bodies all in the smallest size of Kith make them stand outs in Eora.
Aumaua – Towering, powerfully built, and physically imposing.
Not only do the different species change how you look, the team has also added in stat bonuses for all species adding another layer to character creation.
Humans
+1 Might
+1 Resolve
Elves
+1 Dexterity
+1 Perception
Aumaua
+2 Might
Dwarves
+1 Might
+1 Constitution
Orlans
+1 Perception
+1 Resolve
Additionally, players will receive stat bonuses depending on their chosen background.
Arcane Scholar – +2 to Intellect
Court Augur – +2 to Resolve
Noble Scion – +2 to Perception
Vanguard Scout – +2 to Dexterity
War Hero – +2 to Constitution
Improved Character Creation
Added new Godlike features, color variants, and presets
Custom Difficulty
For players who want even finer control, Avowed now includes custom difficulty modifiers, allowing you to tune the game’s systems to your preferred experience. These new options are found by scrolling down through the “Game” tab of the settings menu. Adjust player:
Damage dealt
Health, stamina, and essence resources
Elemental status effect threshold
Health and essence regeneration rates
Potion and food restoration rates
Interrupt or knockdown ease
Second Wind cooldown time
Carry capacity
Parry window
Adjust enemy:
Damage output
Health pool
Stun, interrupt, or knockdown ease
Attack speed
Elemental status effect threshold
Aggro threshold
Adjust companion:
Damage dealt
Health max
Elemental status effect threshold
Aggro threshold
As well as general adjustments:
Merchant prices
Equipment upgrade material costs
Fall damage
Trap damage
Item quality damage reduction
Important note: While changing these options will not negate most achievements that you may be hunting down, they will invalidate a Path of the Damned achievement. That achievement must be done without use of the custom game options.
Photo Mode
Capture your envoy, companions, and the Living Lands from any angle and share your journey. Includes a free or fixed camera, filters, character rotation and toggle, post-process effects, and gradients. Photo Mode is accessed from the pause menu.
New Weapon
A brand new weapon type is joining the arsenal with the quarterstaff. Designed with the archmage fantasy in mind, the quarterstaff is a new bludgeoning weapon that comes complete with wand style stun finishers. Unleash brutal physical combos along with a fury of spells that would make even Concelhaut jealous.
New Stun Finishers
New stun finishers added for One-Handed Weapons and Two-Handed Weapons.
Respawning Encounters
Respawning encounters have been added to Dawnshore, Emerald Stair, Shatterscarp, and Galawain’s Tusks.
New Quality of Life Features
Players can now change their Envoy’s appearance after character creation via the mirror in the party camp.
Newly placed workbenches allow players to upgrade gear without returning to party camp.
All player Backgrounds now have an added attribute bonus.
Added option to end dream conversations early.
Powder keg chain reactions now occur with a short delay, instead of all exploding simultaneously.
Increased max Controller Vibration Intensity (in the Controller Settings menu) from 1.0 to 2.0.
Added keyboard-based turning in accessibility options.
Improvements to Lighting
The lighting has been improved across all regions.
Improved the lighting in conversations.
Graphics
Updated XeSS to 2.1. Xe Frame Generation, Xe Super Resolution, and Xe Low-Latency mode are now available to more GPUs.
All Bug Fixes Crashes and stability
The game should now longer crash after Fog of War has been cleared.
Addressed an issue causing Barbaric Smash killing blow VFX to remain on the player indefinitely
Fixed an issue when creating save games that could cause NPCs to be stuck when reloading
Performance and Optimizations
Resolved an issue where NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency was missing “Off” option while upscaling is disabled.
Ray tracing is now off by default on Handheld PCs.
Added Mid Luminance values to HDR settings.
Various performance improvements.
Animation
Fixed an issue with the Two-Handed Axe special attack not being aligned while in third person view.
Companion animations no longer stutter during conversations and exploration.
Audio
All audio should now play properly when cooking.
Quests & Conversations
Decals for puzzle in Sallow Steppe should now render properly.
The camera should behave normally during conversation with Tazaraak.
UI/UX
Ability and Grimoire Cost Discounts are now shown in the Character tab of the Ledger, as well as the maximum (-90%) available.
Fixed Tanglefoot’s icon on Player’s and enemy’s HUD.
New Icon added to help distinguish Flurry of Blows on enemy’s HUD.
Text should no longer overlap tabs in certain languages.
Fixed description for several active abilities that were incorrectly labeled as passive.
Resolved an issue where “confirm override” pop-up was not showing while switching presets in the Extras tab.
Fixed an issue where Marius’ Hunter Sense disappeared from hotbar after leaving Party Camp.
Vital bars are showing proper preview values for some skills when upgraded.
Fixed an issue where “Survivalist” ability did not reflect additional bonuses in UI.
Blunted hits no longer include blood VFX when “Combat Blood” is disabled.
Combat/Systems Fixes
Fixed issue where various Area of Effect sources like Arcane Veil interfered with aiming player spells.
Swinging guillotines in the Garden remain disabled after loading a save.
Fixed an issue where Yatzli’s Explosive Blast did not break destructibles.
Some unique weapon enchantments now work properly while Dual Wield Mastery is active.
Already broken destructibles no longer receive damage numbers.
Loot now directly drops at the feet of a shattered frozen enemy.
* If you need Xbox Game Pass tiers to be explained for being too complicated, then I suggest writing to your MP and Satya Nadella to complain.
I feel for Avowed. It's a bit like an athlete that goes to an Olympics and makes it to a final but doesn't place. It's a great achievement, a success by many people's standards, but history doesn't care.
Avowed is set to launch on PS5 on February 17th, bringing updates like improved skill trees and a new 3rd person view, along with additional features for all versions.
Former Xbox exclusive role-playing game Avowed is coming to PlayStation 5, and it'll be released on the game's first anniversary: 17th February 2026 (note: the original PC and Xbox Series S/X release happened on 18th February 2025 but it's only a day's difference).
It's been another strange, difficult, and yet somehow also brilliant year for video games in 2025. Triple-A releases have been sparse again, compared to the boom times of old, with a great big GTA 6-shaped hole left in the final few months of the year. And yet once again, every gap left by the established order has been filled twice over with something brilliantly new.
2025 has gone by in a flash, hasn't it? Well, apart from the days I've spent tabulating all your Game of the Year votes and presenting the results here - that has felt like an eternity and I think has given me permanent neck pain. But, let's not worry about that. I'm sure you'll agree it was worth the sacrifice.
Another day, another “Xbox game is coming to PS5” announcement, as it’s now been confirmed that Obsidian’s fantasy RPG Avowed is coming to PlayStation 5 on 17th February 2026. The PS5 launch will coincide with an anniversary update that will also arrive for the game on PC and Xbox Series X|S at the same time.
The announcement came as part of an interview for New Game Plus:
The anniversary update should make this the best way to play the game – a boon, of course, for PS5 players to get the rounded off version, but also for anyone returning to the game on previous platforms. There are three new races that you can create your Godlike protagonist as, with dwarves, orlan and aumaua to be available, and a brand new weapon type that will be introduced to the game.
A new game plus mode is also being added, with the caveat that weapon levelling will not carry over, and there’s a long overdue photo mode to help capture some of the intense action moments and scenery that you might want to preserve.
Avowed takes us back to the Living Lands, a mysterious islands in the fantasy world of Eora, which it shares with Obsidian’s previous Pillars of Eternity games. However, where those games were both top-down CRPGs and part of the genre’s revival over the past decade, Avowed will shift back to one of Obsidian’s areas of expertise: first person action RPG adventuring. Avowed is not a fully open world game, but has several large open areas that you can explore. In that regard it’s comparable to one of Obsidian’s other acclaimed hits, The Outer Worlds.
This game was one of the highlights for Xbox and PC gamers last year, as Microsoft’s many studios and subsidiaries deliver on long-awaited projects, and as they’ve continually stuffed games into Xbox Game Pass. “Avowed is an incredible RPG,” we said in our review. “Its vibrant world and stellar cast make every moment a joy to take part in, enhanced by a script that gives equal measure to drama, action and humour. Coming hot on the heels of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Microsoft’s software revival is well underway.”
Microsoft made a surprise appearance at the New Game+ Showcase yesterday, with Obsidian delivering two announcements, the biggest of which is undoubtedly that Avowed is launching on PlayStation 5 soon. The action roleplaying game is about to celebrate its first anniversary. It launched for PC and Xbox Series S|X on February 18, 2026, and on February 17, the game will be available on Sony's PS5 console, following the established pattern set by Microsoft with its newfound multiplatform policy. Pre-orders are now live on the PlayStation Store, offering two options: a $49.99 Standard Edition and a $59.99 Premium Edition. If you're […]
Publisher Xbox Game Studios and developer Obsidian Entertainment have announced that a PlayStation 5 version of Avowed will launch on February 17. The release will coincide with the “Anniversary Update,” which adds several new features, including New Game Plus, a new Photo Mode, additional character presets, a new weapon type, and more. Pre-orders for the game are now available on the PlayStation Store. A new developer interview has also been released.
The game’s details via the publisher:
Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger.
Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
You are the envoy of Aedyr, a distant land, sent to investigate rumors of a spreading plague throughout the Living Lands—an island full of mysteries and secrets, danger and adventure, and choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness. You discover a personal connection to the Living Lands and an ancient secret that threatens to destroy everything. Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?
The Weird and Wonderful Living Lands
The Living Lands is a place that feels foreign yet somewhat intrinsic to you as it feels the island itself is calling out to you for help. Explore an island home to many different environments and landscapes, each with their own unique ecosystem.
Visceral Combat to Play Your Way
Mix and match swords, spells, guns, and shields to fight your way. Dig into your grimoire for spells to trap, freeze or burn enemies, bash them with your shield, or use range bows to attack from a distance.
Companions as Part of Your Journey
Companions from a spread of species will fight alongside you, with their own unique set of abilities. From a former mercenary to an eccentric wizard, they will be part of your journey with your choices shaping them as you help them with their quests.
Microsoft has confirmed that a pair of RPGs will be the next Xbox games to release on the PS5, and both of them will be out on the platform in February 2026. Obsidian Entertainment‘s Avowed will launch on PS5 first, followed by Stoic’s Towerborne.
RPGs Avowed and Towerborne are the next Xbox games headed to PS5
Action RPG Avowed will be available on PS5 on February 17, along with its Anniversary Update. The update will add New Game Plus, Photo Mode, new character appearance, new weapon, new character options, and more.
“You are the envoy of Aedyr, a distant land, sent to investigate rumors of a spreading plague throughout the Living Lands — an island full of mysteries and secrets, danger and adventure, and choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness,” reads an official overview. “Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?”
Stoic’s Towerborne is a side-scrolling action RPG that’s currently in early access. The full game will launch on PS5 on February 26.
“Rise again as an Ace, an immortal warrior reborn to defend the Belfry against the darkness beyond its walls,” a description reads. “Journey across a crumbling world, uncover the mystery of the fallen City of Numbers, and push back the corruption threatening humanity’s survival.”
Another day, another “Xbox game is coming to PS5” announcement, as it’s now been confirmed that Obsidian’s fantasy RPG Avowed is coming to PlayStation 5 on 17th February 2026. The PS5 launch will coincide with an anniversary update that will also arrive for the game on PC and Xbox Series X|S at the same time.
The announcement came as part of an interview for New Game Plus:
The anniversary update should make this the best way to play the game – a boon, of course, for PS5 players to get the rounded off version, but also for anyone returning to the game on previous platforms. There are three new races that you can create your Godlike protagonist as, with dwarves, orlan and aumaua to be available, and a brand new weapon type that will be introduced to the game.
A new game plus mode is also being added, with the caveat that weapon levelling will not carry over, and there’s a long overdue photo mode to help capture some of the intense action moments and scenery that you might want to preserve.
Avowed takes us back to the Living Lands, a mysterious islands in the fantasy world of Eora, which it shares with Obsidian’s previous Pillars of Eternity games. However, where those games were both top-down CRPGs and part of the genre’s revival over the past decade, Avowed will shift back to one of Obsidian’s areas of expertise: first person action RPG adventuring. Avowed is not a fully open world game, but has several large open areas that you can explore. In that regard it’s comparable to one of Obsidian’s other acclaimed hits, The Outer Worlds.
This game was one of the highlights for Xbox and PC gamers last year, as Microsoft’s many studios and subsidiaries deliver on long-awaited projects, and as they’ve continually stuffed games into Xbox Game Pass. “Avowed is an incredible RPG,” we said in our review. “Its vibrant world and stellar cast make every moment a joy to take part in, enhanced by a script that gives equal measure to drama, action and humour. Coming hot on the heels of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Microsoft’s software revival is well underway.”
Avowed won't be getting the final update devs Obsidian had planned for this year. Instead the studio have opted to save putting out the new game plus mode they'd planned for this autumn for a big update to make the RPG's first birthday in February. To make up the extra wait, the anniversary update'll be adding some mystery extra bits alongside the already announced features.
The autumn patch was originally set to be the third update delivered to the nature-rific blunderbuss adventure this year. The last one to arrive was the summer update, which aimed to round out the fighting skills of non-magic users so that wizards weren't having all of the fun.
Obsidian Entertainment, one of gaming's busiest developers, has announced a delay for this year's remaining Avowed update. This was to include a Photo mode and New Game Plus mode, among other things, and it will now be held back - as well as enlarged - for the game's anniversary on 18th February 2026.
Obsidian was on one in 2025, releasing two of the biggest games of the year. While one is science fiction and the other is medieval fantasy, they both have a ton of similarities. Both are first and third-person RPGs with a ton of choices to make that can alter the path of the story as well as the fate of different companions you meet throughout the journey.
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