After twelve years among the RPG legends at Obsidian, Avowed director Carrie Patel is moving on. Patel has announced that she's now at Night School, the beloved and formerly indie studio that's now part of Netflix.
"I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Game Director at Night School: A Netflix Game Studio," Patel said in a LinkedIn post yesterday, as spotted by Insider Gaming.
Patel joined Obsidian back in 2013 as a narrative designer on Pillars of Eternity, a throwback CRPG that got particular praise for its writing. She continued to work on the narrative for the game's DLC and its sequel, and eventually served as senior narrative designer on The Outer Worlds, moving up to game director for the Peril on Gorgon DLC.
She continued on as game director on Avowed, which built on the narrative established in Pillars of Eternity, launching to solid reviews and player metrics that Xbox is apparently "very happy" about, as Patel said back in March. It's not entirely uncommon for a director to seek something new after leading a massive project like this, but the jump to a Netflix-owned studio is sure to raise a few eyebrows given the apparent instability in the company's gaming initiative.
Night School Studio is best known for Oxenfree, a narrative-driven adventure game that released in 2016 and instantly became a cult hit. The studio was acquired by Netflix in 2021 as it was developing a sequel, with Oxenfree 2 finally launching in 2023. Patel's narrative focus seems like a natural fit for the studio, but we'll have to wait and see what's in store from them both.
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