Avowed becomes Steam top-seller with Very Positive reception despite high price-tag

Following its early-access release, Avowed has reached the top seller spot on Steam and surprised fans and naysayers alike, even though the high $70 price tag was seen as a potential obstacle in the game's journey to success before launch. This milestone for the latest open-world RPG from Obsidian Entertainment is a new notch in the acclaimed developer's catalog of achievements.

Additionally, the fans' reception to the game has been positive. Given that the studio's past releases have been middling thus far, fans have been worried about its future. Avowed's pre-launch success proves that Obsidian has not lost its touch or its popularity among fans.

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Avowed crowned Steam top seller during early access launch, paints a bright future for the studio

Aaron Greenberg of Xbox marketing took to social media to celebrate Avowed's pre-launch milestone. The game pushed past several equally hyped AAA launches this month like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Sid Meier's Civilization 7 to sit at the tippy top, much to everyone's surprise.

Avowed was not as heavily marketed as other high-profile Xbox launches. Furthermore, it is a new entry in the relatively niche Pillars of Eternity series — even though this new "AA" entry strays from the isometric, traditional CRPG formula in favor of a more modern first/third-person action combat game.

Stakes for Avowed were also at an all-time high since the studio was not performing well in the past few years. While Obsidian is known for creating the universally loved Fallout: New Vegas game, their later efforts were not as successful. The Outer Wilds received a middling reception while Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire was a commercial flop.

The game has managed to surpass pre-launch expectations, but what about post-launch? (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

To top it off, Avowed found itself in a bit of controversy amid culture war gripes on the internet, which certainly was another thorn in the game's journey to carve out a niche for itself. Thankfully it seems like fans' worries have been for naught as the Steam pre-purchase and early access numbers are fairly promising. As of writing, it sits at a 24-hour peak of about 10,000, with a Very Positive Steam rating.

That is without considering pre-launch access on other PC platforms like Xbox Game Pass and Battle.net as well as the Xbox Series consoles. The fact that the game is also one of the most expensive in recent memory — with editions starting at $70 — makes this new achievement all the more surprising.

While it may still be too early to come to a definitive conclusion, it seems like the game and Obsidian Entertainment are on their way to achieving mainstream success again.

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Avowed is available on PC and Xbox Series X|S platforms and will officially launch on February 18, 2024.