Fable 4, officially referred to simply as Fable, is currently in development and there is no doubt that it is one of the most anticipated upcoming exclusive Xbox games.
Fable will mark “a new start for the legendary franchise” when it’s released, and developer Playground Games (the studio behind Forza Horizon) will be looking to give the beloved franchise its own mark.
Fans are surely eager to see what the developer has in store for a fantasy RPG, as it’s been 12 years since the last release of the main Fable game. However, this time, without Lionhead Studios at the helm, it’s hard to predict the direction Playground will take with Fable 4. However, we know that this will essentially be a series reboot, not a sequel, and Microsoft confirms the studio will give the franchise a “whole new start”.
However, since its announcement, we haven’t heard much about solid details about this new Fable game – which is likely to be released in a few years. So, while waiting for more official news, read everything we know so far about Fable 4, including the details we’ve gathered from its trailer and all the rumors that are circulating exclusively on Xbox.
Fairy tale 4: cutting to the heart
- What is this? The fourth installment in the main Fable series
- When can I play it? There is no release date yet, but don’t expect it soon
- How can I play it? TBC but is an exclusive Xbox console
Fable 4 release date and platforms
There is no release date or window yet for Fable 4. The earliest we expect is the end of 2023, although 2024 is more likely.
At least Phil Spencer suggested during IGN Podcast (opens in a new tab) that we will get it before The Elder Scrolls 6, although this game also has no release date yet and is not expected to land sometime after Starfield release (which was delayed until 2023). This is confirmed by the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase in June 2022, focusing on games that will be launched “in the next twelve months” and Fable was not present.
However, we know on which platforms we can expect Fable 4 to land. As an Xbox exclusive, Fable 4 will be released on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, where it will be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one. It is unknown if it will appear on Xbox One consoles, but we have no hope as Microsoft has not confirmed anything.
Fairy tale trailer 4
Trailer of the world premiere
At the moment, only one trailer for Fable has been released: the teaser for the world premiere announcement.
The trailer doesn’t reveal much, but it does suggest that the game can be set long before the series’ later entries, as we don’t have as much sense of the Victorian-style industrial revolution as in the Fable 3 setting. Instead, it feels like Fable 4 will have a medieval fantasy setting, perhaps more like the original game, with a trailer featuring a sword, fairies, overgrown toadstools, and greedy toads.
Check it out below:
Fable 4 news and rumors
The head of the Xbox explains the lack of news
Work on Fable 4 is still ongoing, but after the game didn’t show up at the Xbox shows at both Summer Game Fest and Gamescom 2022, fans wondered when they would hear more.
Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty admitted no news interview on PAX West 2022 (opens in a new tab) but he explained that the game will only be shown when developer Playground Games is ready to show it.
“Every time I see something, I say,” We should show it … because there are so many cool things, “Booty said. “The team made it very clear that I won’t be able to show anything until it’s ready.”
Booty expressed his support for Playground Games, saying that choosing a studio known primarily from Forza Horizon to work on Fable 4 may feel like “a bit of a scratch on the head”, they “understand” and “is excited when it’s time to be able to show more” .
In development for at least 4 years
Fable 4 has taken longer than expected. In a November 2021 tweet, the developer from Playground Games, who is working on the game, celebrated “four years of working on Fable.”
This means the game has been in development for at least four years, and development likely began just a year after the franchise’s creator, Lionhead Studios, closed. While we don’t know much about Fable at the moment, the idea that we’ve been working on it for many years gives us hope to learn more in the near future.
4 years working on Fable at @WeArePlayground. So excited about this game. pic.twitter.com/KO099HnYSdNovember 5, 2021
Fighting in Fable 4 may resemble The Witcher
The developer from CD Projekt RED (The Witcher series, Cyberpunk 2077) will be working on the combat system in the game. As reported PCGamesN (opens in a new tab)game designer Paweł Kapała leads the fight at Fable developer Playground Games, and his LinkedIn page confirms that this role is related to “designing and implementing combat in Fable.”
In our opinion, the kind of sword-and-spell combat The Witcher 3, one of the best-selling video games of all time, would be the perfect template for Fable, especially considering how similar some of the spells in the game are.
Trust Playground Games, says Phil Spencer
Fable 4 is being developed by Playground Games, the studio probably best known for working on the Forza Horizon franchise, but Phil Spencer wants fans to trust the studio. Speaking on the Dropped Frames podcast in June 2021 (via VGC (opens in a new tab)), Spencer said:
“All I can really say about Fable is seeing the lineage of the team and the playground and where they set the bar for game development – I think it showed with the Forza Horizon 5 preview they had – I think people should just be in it is to believe [studio director] Gavin [Raeburn] and the team there is just as focused on doing something amazing with an IP address that we know is really important to a lot of Xbox fans, so we can’t wait to show more, but the team is just amazing.
The Forza Horizon 5 weather system bodes well for Fable 4
Forza Horizon 5 has the most dynamic and impressive weather system in the series, and considering developer Playground Games is also working on Fable 4, we’re very excited about how this technology could translate into Albion’s open world. We believe that by incorporating these dynamic weather systems into the new Fable, Playground Games has the ability to give the new Fable its own seal that neither the former Lionhead developer nor many other RPG developers have been able to before. Albion’s idea of each region having its own seasonal weather is exciting – it can more effectively reflect the passage of time and really enhance the immersion and uniqueness of each part of the map in the game.
It may take years
As far as we know, Fable 4 is still in an early stage of development and it may be a while before we can play it. In fact, speaking on VGC Off the Record podcast (opens in a new tab) In April 2021, industry reporter and GamesIndustry.biz chief Chris Dring said the game’s (at the time) launch, along with other Xbox exclusive consoles announced, could take many years.
Based on interviews with Xbox Game Studios staff, Dring said, “The games they announced – Everwild, Perfect Dark, Fable – are so far away. As with, there may even be a new Xbox (mid-tier upgrade) before these games come out.
They’re so far away, and it’s no surprise that Xbox is currently looking to invest and sign up for some products because they don’t have a big exclusive product list at all. ”
Fable is to use the ForzaTech engine
As per the previous job advertisement (opens in a new tab), which was intended for a software engineer at Turn10 Studios, Fable will be built using the ForzaTech engine that powers Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon. The list states that the team is looking for a candidate who can enrich “Fable’s open world action RPG toolkit” as well as add new features such as “ray tracing to support the next generation of consoles.”
Lead screenwriter confirmed
Anna Megill, Senior Screenwriter and Storyteller at Remedy Entertainment, joins Playground Games as the lead writer for Fable in the development of Control.
Megill announced on the day Twitter (opens in a new tab) in December 2020, she leaves her current role with Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment to join Playground Games.
The team behind the game
Soon after Fable itself was revealed, we got a glimpse of the impressive team that is working on the game thanks VGC (opens in a new tab). We now know that many seasoned game designers are working on rebooting Fable, including the Borderlands Lead Quest Designer, Level Designer for GTA V and GTA Online, and a host of scriptwriters who have worked on Batman: Arkham Knight.
There have been rumors that Fable will go down the path of being an MMO, but the experience of those working on the project certainly suggests it will be a more open-minded RPG approach, perhaps with an online multiplayer component. He said we can’t really make sure Playground Games and Microsoft reveal more official details.
This wild, announced rumor
Before Fable 4 was even announced to the world, there was a 2019 video leak claiming to give some insight into the game’s setting and history. The video has disappeared from the internet, but the thread on Reddit with what it described has remained, and some details sound pretty wild. We say “Albion and Aurora destroyed by an asteroid, a new continent with time and interplanetary travel” wild.
While it sounds pretty nice, it would create an opportunity to reset the settings for the Fable series, making it easier to return the series to its medieval fantasy roots with a few extremely different elements to keep it fresh. In the game trailer, while concise, we didn’t have any obvious feeling that the new game would be more advanced over time than setting up the Industrial Revolution in Fable 3.
Obviously, this is a leak from an unverified source, so until Playground Games or Microsoft start revealing solid details about Fable 4, we’d say take it with a grain of salt. You can read the entire leak in the tweet below.
Rumor: first details of Fable IV leaked (including plot details) pic.twitter.com/V6W74TDLV9June 4, 2019
Fable 4 is possibly an open world game
In January 2018, Eurogamer He said that according to sources close to the project, work was in progress on a completely new, high-budget game Fable. Now we know this is true.
This news came less than two years after the closure of Lionhead Studios, and the report rightly stated that the new developers of the series will be Playground Games, best known for their work on the Forza Horizon franchise.
Eurogamer sources said a team of over 200 people would be working on Fable from the team’s new offices in Leamington Spa, although development was still at a very early stage.
What kind of Fable Playground can I work on? Well, the report says the game is intended to be an open-world action RPG with an emphasis on character and storyline. This certainly aligns with everything we saw in the reveal trailer, with the final shot showing a big world that looks ready to be explored.
It would also make sense for Playground to transfer its Forza Horizon open-world knowledge to a game like this. Either way, we can’t wait to see what comes out of it. The fairy tale has been dormant for too long.