Avowed Patch 2.0 Launches with New Game+, Playable Races, Photo Mode, PS5

Avowed’s anniversary update (Patch 2.0) went live on February 17, 2026, bringing New Game+, newly playable races inspired by Pillars of Eternity, a Photo Mode, a new quarterstaff weapon, and a PlayStation 5 release that includes the past year of updates. Obsidian Entertainment framed the release as the capstone to its post-launch roadmap and said it was built with both returning and new players in mind.

Obsidian opened its developer post by noting the timing and intent: “It has been one year since the launch of Avowed and the team is ending its post-launch roadmap with a substantial anniversary update built with both returning and new players in mind.” The studio also described the update as delivering “long-requested community features and a broad slate of quality-of-life improvements, including a fan driven feature to bring Avowed even closer to its Pillars of Eternity franchise roots.”

New Game+ is one of the biggest mechanical changes. IGN’s coverage summarized the feature as “one of the most requested additions in the Avowed anniversary update” and explained how to access it: “After completing the game, head back to the main menu to find a new game plus option.” Xbox and Blizzard detail the carryover rules: “This feature will allow players to bring over all unlocked abilities (with the exception of godlike abilities), unique weapons and armor, and unlocked enchantments. Everything else for the player goes back to a new game slate; however, that does not mean danger is minimized. Enemies have their stats increased so they will be tougher, but to balance that out, the player gets an increase to their attribute points cap – things like Might, Constitution, Dexterity, etc. – from 15 to 30 so they can bring the hurt to stronger foes.”

IGN’s breakdown also highlights custom difficulty and XP mechanics in New Game+: “Certain changes to difficulty modifiers will grant extra XP, and you can check the total XP multiplier for all customizations in the bottom right window. Adjustments to player modifiers like damage output, max health, or cooldowns do not impact the XP multiplier, but you'll get an XP boost for increasing world and enemy sliders.” IGN added a UI note: “You'll know you're in New Game Plus with your envoy when it has the adventure 2 label.”

Playable races were explicitly added to the update and tied to Pillars of Eternity roots; Obsidian called that inclusion “fan driven.” The original internal brief indicates a count of three new playable races, though the Obsidian announcement excerpts supplied here did not list the specific race names or full descriptions.

Capture and customization received attention as well. Blizzard and Xbox noted that “Rounding out the anniversary update is the addition of a Photo Mode so you can capture all the best angles of your envoy, as well as your companions or just the Living Lands, and share them with your friends.” IGN’s video timestamps also list Magic Mirror, more preset characters, and godlike features among the update’s UI and customization items.

Combat and quality-of-life work landed alongside the larger systems. Blizzard and Xbox highlighted “A brand new weapon type – the quarterstaff – lets you fulfill your archmage dreams,” plus new finishers, enemies that now respawn to keep areas lively, improved lighting, and “the ability to skip previously unskippable conversations with a certain god.”

Platform rollout and media capture details were emphasized in parallel coverage. Obsidian wrote “Avowed is now available on PlayStation 5 opening the Living Lands for even more envoys to explore,” and Microsoft’s Windows Blogs author Athima Chansanchai confirmed the PS5 release includes the past year of updates. IGN’s video accompanying the update notes that “All gameplay in this video was captured on a PS5 Pro in 4K, unless otherwise noted.” IGN’s published clip listed 19,700,000 channel subscribers and showed 44,999 views and 586 likes on the update video at the time metadata was recorded.

Obsidian cautioned that the public announcement is a summary: “This is just a touch of what is in the update as the full patch notes go into more detail,” and the studio pointed players toward previous update pages including 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 for additional context. With Patch 2.0 labeled the anniversary update, Obsidian has closed its post-launch roadmap and opened the Living Lands to more envoys and extended playthrough options.