Avowed in 2026: Why Game Pass Was My February 2025 Savior

I still remember February 2025 like it was yesterday. My wallet was already crying. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Civilization 7, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Monster Hunter Wilds were all launching within weeks of each other. Every single one of them wanted $70 from me. Then there was Avowed, Obsidian Entertainment's first AAA release after Microsoft acquired the studio in 2018. It had been delayed from 2024 to February 18, 2025, and it was arriving on Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC. But here is the thing that changed everything for me: it was also coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one.

I am writing this in 2026, more than a year after that chaotic launch window. Looking back, I can say without hesitation that Game Pass was the only reason I played Avowed when it was new. I paid $20 for one month of Game Pass Ultimate. That is it. I finished the game in that month, and I did not have to drop $70 on it. PC Game Pass subscribers could do the same for as low as $12 a month. Compare that to the other big February 2025 releases. None of them came to a subscription service on day one. If I wanted to play Monster Hunter Wilds and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 at launch, I had to buy them outright. That is $140 right there. Add Assassin's Creed Shadows, and I am looking at $210. Add Civilization 7 and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and the total becomes terrifying. Most financially-conscious gamers cannot justify spending $70 on three or four AAA titles in a single month. I know I could not.

That is why Avowed had a major competitive edge. It was one of the few AAA games in the first quarter of 2025 that launched simultaneously on Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft's first-party releases all do this, and Avowed was no exception. Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers got it at no extra cost on day one. For me, that meant I could experience Obsidian's new RPG without gambling $70 on it. I already loved the studio's work. I played Pillars of Eternity, the 2015 CRPG that kicked off the franchise. I played The Outer Worlds and Fallout: New Vegas. Avowed is set in the world of Pillars of Eternity, but it plays very differently. Instead of an isometric perspective, it uses a primarily first-person viewpoint. That made it feel more like The Outer Worlds and New Vegas to me. I was curious, but I was also broke. Game Pass solved that.

Here is a quick breakdown of what I was facing in February 2025:

Game	Approximate Price	Day-One Subscription?
Avowed	$70 retail, $20 via Game Pass Ultimate, $12 via PC Game Pass	Yes, Xbox Game Pass
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2	$70	No
Civilization 7	$70	No
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii	$70	No
Assassin's Creed Shadows	$70	No
Monster Hunter Wilds	$70	No

That table is why I still talk about Avowed's launch strategy in 2026. The game had one weakness: it was exclusive to Xbox consoles and PCs. Most of the other February 2025 games were multiplatform, with day-one releases on PlayStation 5 and/or Nintendo Switch. So Avowed did not have the same reach. If you only owned a PS5, you could not play it. That was a real limitation. But if you were in the Xbox or PC ecosystem, Avowed was the cheapest way to join the conversation. I know several friends who subscribed to Game Pass just for that month, played Avowed, and then canceled. They spent $20 instead of $70. That is a big deal.

Even now, in 2026, I wonder about Avowed's future on other platforms. Microsoft has ported several of its published titles to rival consoles in recent months, including Obsidian's own Pentiment and Grounded. So it is entirely possible that Avowed could come to PS5 or Nintendo Switch 2 down the line. But if it does, it likely will not be available on a subscription service on those platforms. That means PS5 and Switch 2 owners would have to pay the same upfront cost as any other AAA title. They would not get the $20 or $12 shortcut that Game Pass offered. That is a crucial difference.

For me, Avowed was a February 2025 lifesaver. The delay from 2024 to 2025 put it in a precarious situation. February was stacked. Capcom, Sega, Take-Two, and Ubisoft all had huge releases. Obsidian's RPG had to fight for attention. But Game Pass gave it an advantage that no other AAA game in that window had. It made Avowed accessible to a wider audience. It let me play a big, ambitious RPG without skipping meals. And in 2026, when I look back at that ridiculous month, Avowed is the one I actually finished. The others? I am still waiting for discounts. So if you have Game Pass and you have not played Avowed yet, do it. If you are on PS5 or Switch 2, keep an eye out for a port. Just know that you might not get the same sweet subscription deal. That is the trade-off. And it is a trade-off I think about every time a new February release calendar fills up with $70 games.