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Summary

  • Avowed’s director, Carrie Patel, has left Obsidian Entertainment for Night School Studio after the game’s release.
  • Avowed impressed with strong writing, combat, and environments despite being smaller in scale than other AAA RPGs.
  • Night School Studio is known for narrative games such as Oxenfree and Afterparty.

Carrie Patel, the head of Obsidian Entertainment’s project ‘Avowed’, has departed from Xbox studio shortly following the game’s launch. ‘Avowed’ is set in the world of Obsidian’s ‘Pillars of Eternity’ and marked their debut into a significant AAA fantasy RPG. Despite being smaller and more concentrated than games like Bethesda’s ‘The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim’, ‘Avowed’ left gamers impressed with its powerful narrative, fluid first-person combat, and stunning visuals, resulting in the game receiving an 81 on Metacritic.

Throughout a 12-year tenure at renowned RPG studio Obsidian Entertainment, Carrie Patel has predominantly contributed to projects such as Pillars of Eternity, The Outer Worlds, and more recently, Avowed. Patel initially joined the team as a narrative designer for Pillars of Eternity and its two White March expansion packs. She subsequently continued her narrative work on the sequel, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. Following her involvement in the base game, she was given the chance to serve as a game director during The Outer Worlds’ Peril on Gorgon DLC, eventually securing her position as director for Avowed.

It appears that Carrie Patel, who directed her first full game at Obsidian Entertainment, has moved on from the studio. According to her LinkedIn profile, she now serves as Game Director at Night School Studio, an indie team backed by Netflix to boost its Netflix Gaming initiative. Prior to Netflix’s acquisition, Night School was primarily recognized for its 2016 indie hit “Oxenfree,” and has since launched lesser-known titles such as “Afterparty” and “Next Stop Nowhere.

Avowed Director Carrie Patel Has Left Obsidian for Netflix’s Night School Studio

Exceptional storytelling is a hallmark of Night School Studio, with their games like Oxenfree and Afterparty receiving acclaim for their well-crafted characters and writing. Given this reputation, it’s not surprising that Carrie Patel chose to join Night School Studio as she embarks on her next professional journey. Since none of Night School’s games are Role-Playing Games (RPG), it will be intriguing to see if Patel’s presence in the studio might lead to more RPG-inspired gameplay aspects, given that Night School has primarily focused on narrative adventure games up until now.

Patel leaving Obsidian might suggest that the upcoming DLC for Avowed could be cancelled. However, since Obsidian has a habit of switching directors for DLCs, like with The Outer Worlds expansions, there’s still some hope for Avowed’s near future. Nevertheless, envisioning an immediate Avowed sequel becomes more challenging without Patel at the studio, even though Obsidian appears optimistic about Avowed’s critical and commercial reception.

Currently, Obsidian Entertainment has a highly-anticipated sequel to The Outer Worlds slated for release before 2025’s end. They have already shared a wealth of information and gameplay footage about the upcoming title, which will take center stage during Xbox’s June showcase on June 8. Meanwhile, Carrie Patel and Night School Studio recently launched Thronglets, a mobile game based on Black Mirror, but details regarding their next project remain scarce; it is possible that Patel may be involved in this forthcoming venture.

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2025-05-20 23:13