Obsidian Director Joins Oxenfree Team After 13 Years

Carrie Patel, the director of Avowed, has left the esteemed RPG studio Obsidian Entertainment, just a few months following the game's launch.

In a recent update to her LinkedIn profile, Patel announced she has embarked on a new role at Night School Studio, the developer behind the Oxenfree narrative adventure series, which is owned by Netflix.

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

Night School is best known for its Oxenfree franchise, with the latest installment being Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals in 2023. Earlier this year, the Netflix-owned studio released the Black Mirror spin-off Thronglets, which coincided with an undisclosed number of staff layoffs. Months prior, Netflix shuttered another one of its internal studios that was developing a AAA title led by Halo veteran Joseph Staten.

Patel was a long-time veteran at Obsidian Entertainment, the developer behind Avowed. Over her 11-year tenure, she held various senior positions on major titles such as the sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds and the classic Pillars of Eternity series.

Most recently, she took over as director of Avowed after the project underwent a reboot early in its development cycle. Initially, Avowed was conceived with a darker fantasy tone closer to The Elder Scrolls, featuring one expansive open world and multiplayer cooperative gameplay.

Under Patel's leadership, the final version of Avowed launched as a brighter, visually distinct experience with multiple large, separate maps to explore and a completely single-player focus.

Avowed - Xbox Developer Direct Screenshots

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Reception for Avowed has been largely positive, and Patel had previously discussed intentions to grow the franchise—whether through expansions, a full sequel, or both. However, she will not be part of those future endeavors.

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

“With captivating worldbuilding and outstanding character writing, Avowed reminds me why I originally fell in love with Obsidian’s RPGs,” notes IGN’s review of the game. “That said, the experience as a whole plays things rather safe, delivering a by-the-numbers fantasy adventure that feels more familiar than innovative.”

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