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[LectureMaster]

Xbox and Microsoft "Very Happy" with Obsidian RPG Reception, Says Avowed Director

The avowed director has recently stated that Xbox and Microsoft have been very happy with the reception of their latest RPG.

tech4gamers.com

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During a recent interview with Eurogamer, Avowed Director Carrie Patel was asked about the number of players who have played the game.

In response to the question, Carrie stated that while she doesn’t have a firm metric, the team and Microsoft have been very happy with the reception of their latest RPG.

"I’ve certainly been very happy, and all the folks I’ve talked to, both at the studio level and at the Xbox and Microsoft level, have been very happy with the reception to our game.

-Carrie Patel"

She further stated that since the game has been played through different platforms, as many players have purchased it while some have been playing it through Game Pass, she doesn’t have an exact metric or number to give.

Not too long ago, it was reported that Avowed had reportedly seen around 6 million players in the first month, beating titles like Indiana Jones, which saw only 4 million players during its first month. So, it’s safe to say that the title had a better launch than many huge titles.

 

[adamsapple]

GG. Really enjoyed my first run through the game.

Will do more renegade themed runs after playing some upcoming games like Shadows etc.

 

[LectureMaster]

GG. Really enjoyed my first run through the game.

Will do more renegade themed runs after playing some upcoming games like Shadows etc.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

this smells like one of the last interviews from The Vailguard director.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

I'm having a good time with it right now.

 

[nowhat]

It was mild success they were after, so of course they are happy.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Maybe some actual numbers of anything instead of empty phrases already?

 

[Fess]

It has been a positive surprise for me after all the bashing online. Not finished yet but so far the combat is super solid. World building is great. Exploration is good but the loot needs to be better, it’s mostly upgrade parts.

Hoping for a big expansion and 2.0 update or eventually a sequel, with more interactivity and some form of law and morale system in place so you can’t steal stuff right in front of people without consequences.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[bender]

I remember how happy they were for the reception to Hi-Fi Rush too.

 

[DrMano]

Microsoft Right now:

And this is me saying it as someone who prefers xbox over sony

 

[Ashamam]

Carrie stated that while she doesn’t have a firm metric

Wtf. Might as well be a flat out lie, as if they don't have firm numbers of both GP downloads, time in game, achievements etc plus full sales data. All fully correlated and analysed up the whazoo. Well to be fair the analysis might be ongoing but to suggest no firm metrics is treating their audience like fools.

 

[Ozzie666]

At least they admittied they have no metrics to base their emotional opinion on. Mid game in my opinion.

Glad people are having fun with the game and are happy with the game. It's not everyone's cup of tea that's for sure.

I much prefer Suikoden remaster, I'm very happy with it. I have nothing to base this on other than the oyxgen I consumed whilst playing.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Took me 77 hours to 100% the game and I loved every second of it. Glad to hear Obsidian is pleased with the reception. I know they said there are no expansion plans, so I hope a sequel is greenlit.

Also gives me tons of confidence for Outer Worlds 2.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

No metrics = underwhelming performance.

If not, they would've boasted numbers. We all know how PR works.

 

[Gilgalaad]

« Very happy » is the new metric

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

As others in this thread have said the game was surprisingly good

 

[SimTourist]

They were pretty happy with Hi-Fi Rush too, just sayin

 

[vaibhavpisal]

They were pretty happy with Hi-Fi Rush too, just sayin

That studio was in trouble since a long time.

Obsidian has always been successful with all their games.

There are no parallels to be drawn between the two.

 

[ZehDon]

Nice, just like another successful title, Hi-Fi Rush. I'm sure Obsidian's future is without question now.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

That studio was in trouble since a long time.

Obsidian has always been successful with all their games.

There are no parallels to be drawn between the two.

Unless Obsidian gets shutdown or sees layoffs.

 

[drganon]

Famous last words...

 

[pulicat]

Everyone in the industry need to cut the crap about users engagement and other useless metrics by showing hard sales numbers like Capcom and Nintendo.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Unless Obsidian gets shutdown or sees layoffs.

Is studio closures and layoffs exclusive to xbox?

Should we discuss studio closure for every game release in the market?

There is no evidence Obsidian is in trouble. They have massively successful games built on shoe string budgets.

 

[Thebonehead]

I remember how happy they were for the reception to Hi-Fi Rush too.

They were pretty happy with Hi-Fi Rush too, just sayin

They didn't seem happy with the management team they had left there as was said by Matt Booty as one of the reasons for shuttering Tango. Think Shinji leaving along with other senior directors was the death knell.

"I won't get into the real sort of nitty gritty details on you know, what went into the decision, mostly out of respect for the people there, just because you know, there was a lot of work that went into delivering Hi-Fi Rush, which was a great game and you know did well for us," Booty began.

"I think the thing to be considered is that for us, it's as much a forward looking situation as much as it is looking back at one certain game... There are a lot of things that go into success for a game. You know, what leadership do you have? What creative leadership do you have? Is the team the same team that shipped something successful previously?

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Is studio closures and layoffs exclusive to xbox?

Should we discuss studio closure for every game release in the market?

There is no evidence Obsidian is in trouble. They have massively successful games built on shoe string budgets.

Why would it be exclusive to Xbox?

Playstation, for example, also shutdown many underperforming studios.
It's business.

But that wasn't the point.

 

[Panajev2001a]

They didn't seem happy with the management team they had left there as was said by Matt Booty as one of the reasons for shuttering Tango. Think Shinji leaving along with other senior directors was the death knell.

"I won't get into the real sort of nitty gritty details on you know, what went into the decision, mostly out of respect for the people there, just because you know, there was a lot of work that went into delivering Hi-Fi Rush, which was a great game and you know did well for us," Booty began.

"I think the thing to be considered is that for us, it's as much a forward looking situation as much as it is looking back at one certain game... There are a lot of things that go into success for a game. You know, what leadership do you have? What creative leadership do you have? Is the team the same team that shipped something successful previously?

You are missing the point in that case. Your interview is from after they shut the studio down. What was the PR on the game before they did?

Not saying Obsidian will or deserves to get shut down, they are still a good studio overall.

 

[bender]

They didn't seem happy with the management team they had left there as was said by Matt Booty as one of the reasons for shuttering Tango. Think Shinji leaving along with other senior directors was the death knell.

"I won't get into the real sort of nitty gritty details on you know, what went into the decision, mostly out of respect for the people there, just because you know, there was a lot of work that went into delivering Hi-Fi Rush, which was a great game and you know did well for us," Booty began.

"I think the thing to be considered is that for us, it's as much a forward looking situation as much as it is looking back at one certain game... There are a lot of things that go into success for a game. You know, what leadership do you have? What creative leadership do you have? Is the team the same team that shipped something successful previously?

Matt Booty or any of the leadership team at Xbox criticizing another management team is laughable considering the brands they've run into the ground, but I digress.

 

[Peroroncino]

trash

 

[SimTourist]

They didn't seem happy with the management team they had left there as was said by Matt Booty as one of the reasons for shuttering Tango. Think Shinji leaving along with other senior directors was the death knell.

"I won't get into the real sort of nitty gritty details on you know, what went into the decision, mostly out of respect for the people there, just because you know, there was a lot of work that went into delivering Hi-Fi Rush, which was a great game and you know did well for us," Booty began.

"I think the thing to be considered is that for us, it's as much a forward looking situation as much as it is looking back at one certain game... There are a lot of things that go into success for a game. You know, what leadership do you have? What creative leadership do you have? Is the team the same team that shipped something successful previously?

It was a dumb decision, Mikami specifically created the studio to pass his knowledge to young devs before he retired and trusted them enough to make TEW2, Ghostwire and Hifi on their own, he felt that his legacy is in safe hands only for MS to close the studio just because they can't use his name in marketing anymore

 

[drganon]

Matt Booty or any of the leadership team at Xbox criticizing another management team is laughable considering the brands they've run into the ground, but I digress.

That and his earlier stint at midway, it's impressive he still has a job.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

It was a dumb decision, Mikami specifically created the studio to pass his knowledge to young devs before he retired and trusted them enough to make TEW2, Ghostwire and Hifi on their own, he felt that his legacy is in safe hands only for MS to close the studio just because they can't use his name in marketing anymore

Wake up.

This is Avowed thread.

Director has merely said they are happy with the reception.

No need to start preparing for funeral.

 

[Embearded]

I'll give it a try at ~20€ if it ever releases on PS5.
I've watched both good and bad gameplay but the core game looks interesting to me.

On the topic, MS can only fools the fanboys when they say they have no metrics. They are the game publisher and platform holder. They have access to all the information they need to get their metrics.
I guess the game didn't move the GP subscribers needle and the sales on Xbox have not been very hot.

 

[tronied]

I think irrespective of numbers, it says something about the game given 2-3 weeks later the Avowed thread is still very active here. Some people tried to dismiss it as a failure on every level here but people are genuinely enjoying it.

It's rare for me to complete a game these days, let alone think about going for multiple playgrounds with different builds. I'd say for that alone it's been a success for me.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I think irrespective of numbers, it says something about the game given 2-3 weeks later the Avowed thread is still very active here. Some people tried to dismiss it as a failure on every level here but people are genuinely enjoying it.

It's rare for me to complete a game these days, let alone think about going for multiple playgrounds with different builds. I'd say for that alone it's been a success for me.

The Concord discord was also very active with people enjoying the game.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

The Concord discord was also very active with people enjoying the game.

Cant wait for my GP money getting refunded and Avowed getting pulled from the store.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Wtf. Might as well be a flat out lie, as if they don't have firm numbers of both GP downloads, time in game, achievements etc plus full sales data. All fully correlated and analysed up the whazoo. Well to be fair the analysis might be ongoing but to suggest no firm metrics is treating their audience like fools.

Alas, stats like that can't be shared publicly without clearance from pr/marketing. So the correct interpretation is "I don't have a statement to make on that" not "the number is a mystery to me."

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Cant wait for my GP money getting refunded and Avowed getting pulled from the store.

At the very least, consumer's money ended up not being wasted on Concord.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

At the very least, consumer's money ended up not being wasted on Concord.

Money wont be wasted on Avowed either.

Refunds or not.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Everyone in the industry need to cut the crap about users engagement and other useless metrics by showing hard sales numbers like Capcom and Nintendo.

Why? So fanboys can pounce upon them and argue? Gamepass isn't a free service, people pay money for it, and that's one of the ways people get access to first party games like Avowed. Any normal assessment would take that into account.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Money wont be wasted on Avowed either.

Refunds or not.

Except for those that bought it and ended up regretting the purchase.

 

[SoraNoKuni]

Somehow MS manages to create 1st party games that "feel" like 3rd party lower end games from the PS2/XBOX era, I can't really explain how, AVOWED isn't cheap or discount bin type of game, but somehow it feels like it.
Is this the Gamepass effect that people were talking about?

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Somehow MS manages to create 1st party games that "feel" like 3rd party lower end games from the PS2/XBOX era, I can't really explain how, AVOWED isn't cheap or discount bin type of game, but somehow it feels like it.
Is this the Gamepass effect that people were talking about?

Low end third party game

If Obsidian made a proper trailer for it, everyone will loose their minds.

 

[TBiddy]

Somehow MS manages to create 1st party games that "feel" like 3rd party lower end games from the PS2/XBOX era, I can't really explain how, AVOWED isn't cheap or discount bin type of game, but somehow it feels like it.
Is this the Gamepass effect that people were talking about?

Did you actually play the game?

 

[GymWolf]

I got bored towards the end and never finished it but it was a decent 6\10 distraction waiting for wilds.

 

[Seomel]

I was kinda saying its fun here earlier but I havent now touched game in over week and dont think I will. I wanted it to be good, but its really so fucking boring to play through and exploration is just genuienly horrid, especially loot wise. I got only to 2nd continent and guess thats where Ill stay.
This is kinda amusing because I had same experience eith starfield, i had 2 week holidays at time when early access launched, I had my premium ed and i just couldnt be bothered to even finish story of starfield because it was same as avowed esentially.

 

[Heisenberg007]

So is this a ... "BREAKOUT HIT?"

 

[Shubh_C63]

It certainly is not a BAD game. Just a disappointing one.
Atleast they got the combat right which is a huge step.

 

[spons]

How the hell can a game director not have any firm metric? You know how many copies are sold, you know how many people played it on Game Pass for x hours.
If Microsoft still doesn't know how to handle numbers via Game Pass combined with units sold there's something very wrong with them.

I mean basically they're admitting they don't know how to measure Game Pass success. How the fuck is that a thing almost 8 years in

 

[Woopah]

Wtf. Might as well be a flat out lie, as if they don't have firm numbers of both GP downloads, time in game, achievements etc plus full sales data. All fully correlated and analysed up the whazoo. Well to be fair the analysis might be ongoing but to suggest no firm metrics is treating their audience like fools

How the hell can a game director not have any firm metric? You know how many copies are sold, you know how many people played it on Game Pass for x hours.
If Microsoft still doesn't know how to handle numbers via Game Pass combined with units sold there's something very wrong with them.

I mean basically they're admitting they don't know how to measure Game Pass success. How the fuck is that a thing almost 8 years in

In the full quote it makes more sense. She says they are happy with the number of players and number of hours spent. But because some players bought the game and others got it through Gamepass, there isn't a single, simple metric she can give in an interview.

There would be less understanding if that part of the quote was in the OP I think.