Unlike other recent fantasy RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed will not include romance options when it releases in February. Game Director Carrie Patel explained the reasoning in an interview with Gamesradar at EGX:
"It works very well in some games. It's a ton of work. You want to make sure you do it right. And part of that is also you want to make sure that a player who opts not to romance but still wants to have a very deep relationship with those companions gets to have just as thorough and meaningful an experience...So we felt that we could best tell our companions' stories and our players' relationships with them without the romance option."
Patel further elaborated that the absence of romance is particularly relevant due to one companion's existing engagement, offering players a unique narrative experience:
"It isn't a story that I think you often get to see...how she navigates having her heart in one place while knowing that she really needs to be here."
While some games successfully implement romance with similar limitations, Obsidian's history shows a less frequent inclusion of romance mechanics. Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds lacked romance options, while Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, an isometric cRPG requiring less development effort for romance scenes, is a notable exception.
Avowed launches on February 18, 2025, for PC and Xbox Series S|X.
