Microsoft has announced that the upcoming revival of their popular RPG series Fable will now be released in 2026, having previously been slated for sometime in 2025 though with no concrete timeframe. Alongside this announcement, however, Microsoft has released a brand new look at the game with Pre-Alpha gameplay footage.
Fable is set to continue the now-defunct Lionhead Studios series and is being developed by Forza Horizon Studio Playground Games. The series has not seen a new mainline entry since Fable 3 was released in 2010, though it has received some tie-in titles since such as a Kinect title, as well as a short-lived free-to-play mobile card game. Lionhead had also attempted to release a co-op spin-off entitled Fable: Legends, which was canceled in 2016 shortly before Microsoft closed Lionhead Studios.
In the latest episode of the Xbox Podcast, former Rare studio head turned head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan made this announcement but assured fans that the game would be “definitely worth the wait.” He stated:
I just want to start with, really excited about progress. Really excited about where Playground are. We previously announced the date for Fable as 2025. We are actually going to give Fable more time, and it’s going to ship in 2026 now.
He then went on to state:
While I know that’s not maybe the news people want to hear, what I want to assure people of is that it’s definitely worth the wait. I have unequivocal confidence in the Playground team. If you think about their history and legacy for Forza Horizon, the last few games, critically acclaimed, 92 Metacritic, award-winning, beautiful, play great.
And just what they’re bringing to Fable as a franchise, just think of the visuals of what you expect of Playground games plus amazing gameplay, British humor, Playground’s version of Albion. So inspired by what’s gone before with the franchise but their take, in quite frankly the most beautifully realized version of Albion you’ve ever seen.
In this same statement, Microsoft revealed around 50 seconds of pre-alpha gameplay for the upcoming Fable game. While it might not be enough to fully satiate fans ready to return to Albion, it does offer a more complete look at gameplay than we have previously seen. This includes locations and the explorable open world, as well as some combat, horseback riding, exploration, as well as a return to bullying chickens.
Announced In 2020, Fable has had somewhat of a troubled development as, while Playground Games is one of the best racing game developers around, the team had very little experience with RPG titles going into this. Over the years though the team had evolved, bringing in talent from Remedy Entertainment and Horizon: Zero Dawn developer Guerrilla Games to support the game. Former Square Enix developer and Deus Ex developer Eidos-Montreal has also been brought in to support Playground games as Fable continues to look better with each showcase.
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