After the terrible Fable spinoffs of the 2010s, and the cancellation of Fable Legends, Xbox are hoping to reignite love for the franchise with a reboot. Here is everything we know about the upcoming Fable game.
Fable was a successful RPG trilogy from the 2000s, which won fans over with its distinctly English tone; cozy cottages, irreverent humor, and an old world charm.
They tried to expand the franchise into different genres in the 2010s, including a very misguided beat 'em up, but none of it worked. Consequently, the original developers of Fable, Lionhead Studios, ceased operation in 2016.
Now, Xbox have commissioned a reboot, to be developed by Playground Games, who previously worked on Forza. And, at least based on everything we've seen so far, the team is trying to deliver an experience that remains faithful to the original trilogy, especially the first and second game.
Here is everything we know about the Fable reboot so far (and yes, it will simply be called "Fable", not "Fable 4").
When will Fable be released?
Playground Games have officially confirmed that Fable will launch in 2025 for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Given they made this announcement in the Summer of 2024, and after releasing gameplay footage, we expect this release window is accurate.
Of course, delays can be announced mere months before a title is set to launch, but at this point if Fable was delayed we would expect it to release no later than 2026.
Announcement history
We heard rumors about this reboot way back in 2019, but it wasn't officially announced until the Xbox Showcase in 2020. Three years later, in June 2023, we received the first in-game trailer, and the release window was announced a year after that on June 9, 2024, with the most recent trailer.
Will Fable release on Xbox Game Pass Day One?
Yes, Xbox have officially confirmed that you will be able to play Fable on day one with Game Pass. We expected this to be the case, as Fable is a major Xbox exclusive, but it's great that we now know with certainty.
Gameplay and Setting
As mentioned above, all the trailers we have seen so far suggest they want fans to feel transported to the golden age of the franchise, Fable and Fable II. And in keeping with this, it looks like the game will be set between the events of those titles, while the gameplay looks like a sleeker, modern version of that RPG style.
Fable's Albion
Every Fable game has been set in Albion, which is an ancient name for Great Britain, and the reboot will be also. But Albion, like Great Britain, looked very different from century to century.
In the case of the Fable reboot, everything we've seen so far makes it clear that the game will be set at some point between the medieval world of the first game, and the early-modern world of the second. Think Late Middle Ages, Plantagenet-era.
Given the expectations of modern gamers and the ability of current hardware, we expect the reboot will have much larger urban areas than those in Fable II, but we don't expect it to quite have the same level of technology as we did in that game with its flintlocks and blunderbusses.
Gameplay
The studio has not given any specific details about gameplay, but in the most recent trailer we could see snippets of classic Fable, i.e. fighting monsters with swords, using magic to take on bosses, and engaging in a rich social life in the towns and villages of Albion.
What story will the Fable reboot tell?
The official description of Fable is very short, and only vaguely describes an impending threat:
What does it mean to be a Hero? Well, in the fairytale land of Albion, that is entirely up to you. With a dark threat looming, and in a world where your reputation precedes you, your choices will change Albion forever.
However, given all the marketing material implies Fable is set in a point in time between the events of Fable and Fable II (which is admittedly quite a broad window of 500 years), we expect the story will touch on the only event we know of from that period. Namely, the destruction of the Heroes Guild by the citizens of Albion, who believed they no longer needed heroes.
That event will probably be used to provide a tragic prologue, and the rest of the game will deal with the fallout of that event and the evil that takes advantage of it, though this is mere speculation on our part.
Will Fable have multiplayer co-op?
As a franchise, Fable has always been especially focused on offering co-op. Both the second and third game had co-op, and the cancelled game, Fable Legends, was set to be an exclusive co-op experience. We therefore think it is very likely that Fable will have co-op based on the franchise's history, but this has not been officially confirmed.
We expect a lot more details are going to be released very soon as we approach release, and hopefully the team can confirm co-op.