Jeff Vogel Returns with a Remake of the Fourth Avernum RPG Called Greed and Glory
It seems that Jeff Vogel, one of the most prominent indie RPG developers, churns out new games with disarming ease. And we’re not talking roguelites or bite-sized puzzle titles, but ultra-deep CRPGs where players can sink countless hours exploring every corner.
Many are familiar with the Geneforge, Queen’s Wish, and Avernum series, and today’s news centers on the latter, which is gearing up for release with a remake of its fourth installment.
Indeed, within the last few hours, his studio, Spiderweb Software, officially revealed Avernum 4: Greed and Glory, sharing a trailer and opening the game’s Steam page; the announcement calls the project the first chapter in the series’ Great Trials Trilogy.
A short Kickstarter campaign in autumn 2024 provided the financial cushion, drawing 1.628 backers and $97,072, and unlocking stretch goals for extra artwork and a bonus scenario. The campaign text emphasizes that every asset and system is being rebuilt rather than lightly remastered.
The feature lists on Steam and the studio’s site promise a sprawling turn‑based CRPG that covers many hundreds of miles of caverns, packs dozens of multi‑level dungeons, and lets players build four‑member parties from well over 100 spells, skills, traits, and battle disciplines.
Political play is central: multiple factions can be aided, undermined, or bribed, and choices branch toward several endings. Artifact crafting, grid‑based tactical combat, and the series’ blend of grim peril and dry humour round out the design.
Official story text frames Avernum as an underground frontier of mines and labyrinths where exiles, brigands, and monsters jostle for riches.
In the new game, outer provinces are collapsing under beastly swarms, cities are falling, and the player‑led party, seeking wealth, freedom, or conquest, may rescue the nation, exploit the chaos, or grab what they can before the dust settles.
Development appears to be in its final stretch. A July update reports that an elite Mac test group has already completed a full pass, and Windows testing is expected to begin by the end of the month, describing the current balance as “tight and exciting.”
Earlier, a June progress note said the rebuilt world would be finished by July, describing it as “packed with more stuff,” including new quests, additional factions, and “wild endings” that aim to make play‑throughs diverge sharply from one another.
At launch (around October 2025), the game will be available for Windows and macOS on Steam. Below are more details about the game and trailer.
Started in 1994, the cult-classic Avernum series is one of the great video game sagas! In this epic fantasy role-playing adventure, you explore and conquer an enormous underworld. Battle through huge dungeons, fight unique and cunning foes, collect, create, and bless hundreds of different artifacts, and enjoy a really good story.
Avernum is a nation underground. Kept alive by the courage and magic of its inhabitants, it stretches through many hundreds of miles of caverns, mines, and labyrinths. It is a wild frontier, attracting adventurers, explorers, brigands, and monsters, all racing to claim the wealth and knowledge in its caves.
You have come to the wild edges of the known underworld with your own goals. (Wealth? Freedom? Conquest?) Once there, you found disaster. Many powerful forces hunger for the riches of the underworld. Swarms of beasts attack. Cities fall into ruin. Your bad luck: You’re the one who might save Avernum from its crisis. Can you do it? And what will you take as your reward?
Avernum 4: Greed and Glory features:
- Epic, turn-based fantasy adventure in a gigantic world, full of interesting characters, clever dungeons, and quests both grim and funny.
- Open-ended story, with multiple factions who plead for (or buy) your support. Practice politics with monsters and choose whether to bring a happy peace or a profitable disaster.
- Complex, open-ended game system full of tactical options and ways to build your party. Well over 100 abilities, traits, spells, and other ways to gain power.
- A unique fantasy world packed with lore, humor, and history. Not your standard elves and orcs.
Avernum 4: Greed and Glory is the beginning of Avernum’s Great Trials Trilogy, and experience with previous Avernum games is completely unnecessary.
