Obsidian’s highly anticipated RPG Avowed is set to release on February 18, 2025, following a delay from its originally planned 2024 launch. This announcement came after a slip-up from developer Obsidian, which briefly confirmed a November 12, 2024, release date in a blog post before correcting it. Despite the delay, fans are eager to dive into the first-person, single-player fantasy world, which promises a deep narrative with more than 10 possible endings, according to game director Carrie Patel.
However, the game’s art director, Matt Hansen, recently sparked debate by revealing that Avowed is “targeting 30 FPS” as its performance benchmark. Speaking on the Iron Lords podcast, Hansen referred to 30 FPS as the “bare minimum” the team aims for, emphasizing that this decision allows for richer visual effects, lighting, and overall visual density. “It’s a trade-off we opted to make relatively early, and we’re really happy with that. The game’s running pretty smooth for how visually dense it is, and that was always our goal,” Hansen explained.
While this approach allows Obsidian to enhance the game’s graphical fidelity, it raises questions about whether 30 FPS is sufficient for a major RPG release in 2025. In recent years, 60 FPS has become increasingly standard for many titles, particularly on next-gen consoles, where smooth gameplay and responsive controls are often prioritized by players. The growing expectation for higher frame rates, especially in first-person games where fluidity directly impacts the player’s experience, makes Obsidian’s decision a potential point of contention.
Many gamers argue that in 2025, 30 FPS may feel outdated, especially for a title as ambitious as Avowed. With the power of next-gen consoles like the Xbox Series X, players might expect both high visual fidelity and performance without needing to compromise. As technology advances, the demand for games that can deliver stunning visuals at higher frame rates continues to grow, making Obsidian’s choice to stick with 30 FPS a topic of debate among the gaming community.
Despite this, Obsidian remains confident that the visual trade-offs will be worth it, promising a visually rich and narratively deep experience when Avowed finally arrives. As the release date approaches, it will be interesting to see how this decision impacts the reception of the game and whether players will accept the trade-off between visual density and performance.
