Obsidian Director Departs for Oxenfree Studio After 13 Years

Avowed's director, Carrie Patel, has departed from the acclaimed RPG studio Obsidian Entertainment, just a few months after the launch of the studio's latest title.

Patel announced on her LinkedIn profile that she has joined Night School, the Netflix-owned developer responsible for the narrative adventure series Oxenfree.

"I'm thrilled to announce that I've started a new role as Game Director at Night School: A Netflix Game Studio!" Patel shared in a brief update. While her new position is again as a game director, the specific project she will be leading has not yet been revealed.

Night School is best known for the Oxenfree series, with Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals being the most recent installment released in 2023. Earlier this year, the studio also launched the Black Mirror spin-off Thronglets, around the same time it underwent an undisclosed number of staff layoffs. Prior to that, Netflix closed down another one of its internal studios, which was developing a AAA title under the leadership of Halo veteran Joseph Staten.

Patel was a long-time veteran at Obsidian Entertainment, the developer behind Avowed. Over her 11-year tenure, she held several senior roles on major projects, including the sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds and the beloved Pillars of Eternity series.

More recently, Patel took over as director of Avowed after the game underwent a significant reboot early in development. The original vision for Avowed was a darker fantasy experience, closer in tone to The Elder Scrolls, featuring one large open world and multiplayer cooperative gameplay.

Under Patel's direction, the final version of Avowed became a brighter and more visually distinct experience, with several large, separate maps to explore and a focus on a purely single-player campaign.

Avowed - Xbox Developer Direct Screenshots

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Reception for Avowed has been largely positive, and Patel had previously spoken about plans to expand the franchise through downloadable content, a full sequel, or both. However, she will not be involved in those future developments.

A development roadmap for Avowed, shared last week, outlined a series of mostly minor free updates scheduled to release over the next six months, including the addition of a Photo Mode and a New Game Plus feature.

In IGN's review of Avowed, we noted, "With its compelling worldbuilding and outstanding character writing, Avowed reminds me why I first fell in love with Obsidian's RPGs. That said, the overall experience tends to play it safe, offering a somewhat conventional fantasy adventure that feels more familiar than groundbreaking."

Obsidian's next upcoming release is The Outer Worlds 2, which is set to be featured in detail at this year's Xbox Games Showcase in June.