Xbox’s new Fable game has been in development for many years now and despite a planned release next year, it doesn’t feel like we know all that much about it. Fable made its debut back on the original Xbox as an ambitious new RPG. Although creator Peter Molyneux made some ambitious promises that didn’t quite come true, the game was still really good and a defining title for not just the console, but that entire generation. It would become a prominent franchise for Xbox in the following years with two sequels, both of which would be well-received. Following Fable III, some spin-offs such as a Kinect-exclusive title and a co-op RPG were greenlit, but the latter was cancelled.
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Unfortunately, series developer Lionhead Studios met its end when Microsoft cancelled Fable Legends. Years later, Xbox boss Phil Spencer would reflect on the matter by noting that he believed Microsoft mishandled Lionhead by trying to get the team to work on games that didn’t fit their skillset, such as Kinect and online games. However, despite the studio’s closure, Fable lives on… but it has been a very long road to release.
Everything We Know About Fable
In 2020, Microsoft did a showcase for its then-upcoming console, the Xbox Series X|S. It presented a number of new games that would be available for the next-generation console, including a brand new Fable game. Rumors of this title had swirled for some time, but now it was official… and it was being done by a surprising new team. Forza Horizon studio Playground Games was tasked with rebooting Fable and the fantasy world of Albion.
On paper, that’s a pretty odd pairing given they’re only known for making arcade racing games. However, that’s not exactly all there is to it. Playground Games spun up a whole second division of its studio for this game with its own office and hundreds of developers, all specifically hired to make an open-world RPG. These aren’t racing developers turned into RPG developers, Playground and Microsoft basically built a new team for Fable. Playground recruited industry veterans from far and wide to come help build a new beginning for Fable, including writers who worked at Remedy (Alan Wake, Control) and Guerrilla Games (Horizon Forbidden West). Additionally, Eidos-Montreal (the Deus Ex franchise, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy) is also assisting on the development of Fable.
The interesting spin here, though, is that Playground is utilizing the Forza engine for Fable, instead of something like Unreal. It remains to be seen exactly how that will work with a totally different kind of game, but in theory, the game should be quite gorgeous. The Forza games are graphical stunners with gorgeous environments and detailed weather systems.
Despite being announced in 2020, it would be three years before Fable would re-emerge in the public spotlight. The game got a proper trailer in June 2023, highlighting the humorous tone that underscores the heroics of slaying beasts with a sword. It also revealed that Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) would star in the game as a giant, though it’s unclear how significant his role is for the entire game as he is seen attacking the protagonist. Matt King (Peep Show) will play a character known as Humphrey, a washed-up and once-great hero who will seemingly guide and mentor the protagonist.
We haven’t seen much actual gameplay of Fable at this point, something that has concerned some people. We don’t know how much of a departure from the original games this will be gameplay-wise or what might stay the same as a result of that. The trailers we have seen might not be actual gameplay, as it is heavily edited and doesn’t feature any kind of UI. However, if it representative of the actual experience, the combat looks quite fluid and fun. Players can perform fancy finishing moves on enemies, throw blades at foes, and even use some kind of power to suspend gravity and pick off their enemies with a bow and arrow while they float in the air.
Fable was also delayed to 2026 after holding a release window of 2025 for quite some time. That delay happened almost a year ago, so some fans expected it to come out in early 2026, but that is looking less and less likely. Now, it may be summer or fall 2026, but that would create a stuffed fall with Halo: Campaign Evolved, Marvel’s Wolverine, GTA 6, and maybe even the next Gears of War game. One rumor from Xbox insider Shpeshal Nick claimed that Fable may be outright delayed to 2027, something that seems possible given the stiff competition next year.
Xbox will often do a smaller showcase in the spring or end of winter where it shows off a handful of upcoming games being published by Xbox. It’s possible Fable may re-emerge there, but if not, we may be waiting until the company’s summer showcase for more details and footage. There are also a lot of rumors that Fable will come to PS5 on day one, not unlike the upcoming Halo remake. Nothing has been confirmed, but Xbox’s changing strategy seems to suggest that is a very real possibility. Either way, Fable is coming, and we can only hope that it will be good.
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