Fans are confused by HDR in Avowed and it's hard to tell who is right
Some players are surprised to find out that Avowed does not allow for HDR on PC. There is a lot more going on, so here you will find the whole context.
One of the most awaited games this month has started its career. At least partially, because so far Avowed is only available for those fans who chose to buy the Premium Edition consisting of Advanced (Early) Access. The production seems to live up to its promises delivering an enjoyable experience to players (read our review to learn more). However, the title didn’t take Steam by storm, as the peak activity number is way lower than what, for example, Civilization 7 has started with, using the same launch model. Unlike Civ 7, Avowed does not have that many technical issues, though it has been noticed that on PC, HDR option is missing. Many fans are confused about this as some of the early reviews were mentioning this feature. What’s going on then? Let’s try to find an answer.
HDR in Avowed explained
High Dynamic Range is more and more common among PC folk community. Modern displays have come a long way, offering a wide range of color spectrum, especially if we consider OLED screens. To use this functionality, a game has to support it first, and it seems that Avowed is somewhere in the middle.
It turns out that according to some fans on Reddit, the title had HDR available, yet the toggle to turn it on and off was removed at some point. In the Eurogamer / Digital Foundy review we can read that this feature is there but without possibility to adjust. This situation is especially strange as this option is present in Xbox version, too. However, we can see clear differences between PC and console.
To sum up, HDR case in Avowed Is complicated. In full fairness, the store page on Steam does not have “HDR available” tag. If that really bothers you, and you use Windows 11, there might be a redeeming factor – Auto HDR. This built-in OS feature allows to use High Dynamic Range even in games that do not support it directly.
As of now, it is unclear whether Avowed on PC will innately support this option / support it better. The most recent updates in Advanced (Early) Access haven’t changed the situation in this regard. This means that the developers might still work on it and amend it in one of the future patches, yet it is unknown whether it will eventually happen.
So far the title has other pressing matters that the creators need to address, like shader compilation crashes or keybinds resetting. If that does not bother you, though, and you enjoy the world of Eora, known from Pillars of Eternity universe, you might want to check out a guide that we have prepared. Have fun!
More:Avowed Guide
