The Xbox is running thin in the exclusives department. Yes, there's Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5. However, outside of these two titles, Xbox consoles don't necessarily have a game that's exclusively available right now and would make you want to buy an Xbox Series S/X over a PS5. But, this is about to change soon, with Starfield coming later this year. Also, if the recent rumors are to go by, Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed won't take long to arrive either.
Obsidian has been working on Avowed for a while now and fans have been desperately waiting for more news about it. The first-person role-playing game has been compared frequently to Skyrim, which is high praise. Not to mention, many believe that Obsidian will work its magic on Avowed so that it ends up being like Fallout: New Vegas, which many consider as the best Fallout game of all time.
Unfortunately, the official word on Avowed is that it won't be released anytime soon. But, according to Jez Corden, when speaking to YouTuber Boxenberger, fans might get a chance to see more of Avowed later this year before an official release early next year.
Unfortunately, this is all that we have to go on about a potential release window for Avowed for now. If the game is indeed released in 2023, it would give Microsoft a potent exclusive punch that could go toe to toe with Sony's offerings, especially if The Elder Scrolls VI arrives in 2024. At the moment, Sony is enjoying all the spotlight from Horizon Forbidden West, which has been a critical darling so far and a huge financial success. If Sony releases God of War: Ragnarok later this year, as planned, Microsoft won't have a console seller outside of Starfield.
Ultimately, we're hoping that Microsoft puts in more effort to keep up with Sony in the exclusives department. Starfield is a great upcoming game that could spawn an entire franchise much like The Elder Scrolls. But, it's still relatively unproven. Not to mention, Halo Infinite just lost a huge chunk of its player base. Although exclusivity isn't Microsoft's priority, the market will be that much better if all console manufacturers try to one-up each other all the time with big exclusives that you can't play anywhere else.
If Avowed can deliver and meet expectations, Microsoft will be a step closer to making sure that fans have more fond memories of the Xbox Series S/X compared to the Xbox One.
