The action role-playing video game Avowed, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and released last month for PC and Xbox, appears to be a massive failure.
Reports indicate that the player count is extremely low. Both Obsidian and its parent company, Microsoft, are reportedly alarmed by the low number of players and sales, which fail to justify the game’s budget—reportedly exceeding $100 million. The marketing campaign includes major advertisements in Times Square.
What happened?
Avowed appears to be another failure from the woke DEI-driven gaming industry. The game was initially reported to mandate the use of pronouns, but following backlash, Obsidian later backtracked, adding a toggle option to disable them. The character art has also drawn criticism, but that’s just the beginning.
Avowed’s art director was called out by Elon Musk on X for alleged illegal hiring practices. Musk even tagged Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, pointing out that such practices are illegal. The art director, Matt Hansen, allegedly admitted to refusing to hire white people, thereby engaging in racial discrimination. Hansen later mocked Musk in posts on Bluesky. Users on X then noted that if any white developers were denied employment at Obsidian Entertainment due to these practices, they might have grounds for a lawsuit against Microsoft.
Art Director for @Obsidian on Avowed @AvowedtheGame wants to piss gamers off on purpose, CONFIRMS game is woke:
— Grummz (@Grummz) November 26, 2024
Speaking of Elon, he says:
"Just wait until you see the default, you said little shit." (sic, typo for "sad").
He's over on bluesky plugging the game to basically… pic.twitter.com/tre0KxAjdk
Microsoft alarmed
Following the controversies, Avowed was released. However, as noted by X user Grummz—an industry leader in the fight against the woke agenda in gaming—the game’s player count is low.
“Rumors are that Microsoft was happy with initial sales, but both Microsoft and Obsidian were alarmed when sales declined more rapidly than expected,” tweeted Grummz.
Grummz added, “For the big advertising budget (animated 3D billboards in Times Square and major cities, etc), this seems like less than ideal performance for the ad money spent.”
Avowed is holding at around 4000 players.
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 7, 2025
After peaking at 19,198 players only 11 days ago, this game now sits at 187th place with 4,847 players.
Rumors are that MS was happy with initial sales but both the Microsoft and Obsidian were alarmed as sales slowed more rapidly than… pic.twitter.com/4J1panctrv
Avowed reaches new peak of 17,490 but struggles at the bottom of the top 100 games played, beaten by Civ V and KCD, as well as Hades II.
— Grummz (@Grummz) February 20, 2025
Fallout 4 is nearly as popular at this hour. pic.twitter.com/786vtPm4zV
Press and Avowed fans alike are claiming 17,000+ on Steam is great for the game.
— Grummz (@Grummz) February 20, 2025
It's true that it is doing around as much as Outer Worlds.
But when you look at the amount of marketing spent by MS, including billboards in Time Square (and around the country), you can reasonably… https://t.co/cwboE0AS50
We win again.
— Grummz (@Grummz) February 14, 2025
Avowed forced to add option to disable pronouns in game.
Whatever Matt Hansen was threatening with "the default" and putting wokeness in the game, he's been soundly rebuked.
He hasn't posted to social media in 2 months. pic.twitter.com/R2ivzvgr1y
Gamers rejecting the DEI-infused woke agenda
If Avowed does end up failing, it joins similar controversial games in failing such as Dustborn, Dragon Age – Veilguard, Concord, and Flintlock.
Recently also saw it learned that Star Wars Outlaws is a big bust. Of course, Warner Bros. reported losing $200 million due to the failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The diverse Star Wars Eclipse video game also has reportedly been canceled.
