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Everything We Know About The Fable Reboot
Microsoft's first-party Fable franchise is making its return on Xbox Series X, more than 10 years after its latest entry. The company only showed a brief teaser announcing the game, but fans can piece together a few things about Fable's release date, story, and gameplay from what's been shown.
The Fable reboot was revealed at Microsoft's July 2020 Xbox Games Showcase, which also gave Xbox fans their first look at Halo Infinite gameplay. Despite the shooter series' pedigree, reactions were mixed, as Halo Infinite's graphics looked worse (a lot worse) than many current PS4 games, such as The Last of Us 2.
Halo Infinite's reveal may have been lackluster, but Microsoft hoped to close out the show with something good when it finally announced a new Fable game. Unfortunately, where Halo Infinite may have shown too much, Fable didn't show much at all: The brief teaser trailer below was the only thing eager fans got to see. Still, there are some details fans can gather from what little Microsoft has said. Read on for everything we know about Fable so far.
Microsoft did not give a release date, or even a release year, for Fable. It did specify that Fable is being "developed by Playground Games for Xbox Series X and Windows 10." Since Microsoft previously announced Xbox Series X games will be cross-gen for at least a year after the console's launch, Xbox One's omission from that statement could mean Fable is at least two or three years away - if not more. Judging by the trailer's lack of real story or gameplay elements, it's also safe to say Fable is early in development, backing up a post-2022 or -2023 estimate.
What We Know About The New Fable Game's Story
As mentioned above, the new Fable game teaser trailer doesn't show anything substantial about the game's setting or story, besides the fact it will keep the series' trademark irreverence for the fantasy genre. Microsoft's official language describes the game as "a new beginning for the legendary franchise." This implies Fable's unnumbered title does indeed mean it's a reboot rather than a straight-up sequel, telling a fresh and newcomer-friendly story. Of course, that doesn't mean Playground won't incorporate characters, factions, or settings from previous Fable games.
A supposed leak in 2019 (via Twitter user Nibel), which included a video apparently highlighting some of the game's visuals and concepts, claimed the next Fable game would see the previous games' settings "reduced to fables." Though the post also claimed direct connections to old Fable characters, this apparent far-future setup could be just what Playground needed to reboot the series.
What We Know About The New Fable Game's Gameplay
The short answer? Even less than its story or release date. Rumors after the announcement suggested Fable could be an MMO, but Windows Central reported "sources familiar with the plans for Playground's take on Fable" confirmed it is an action-RPG that can be played alone - although there "may be online elements like co-op functionality or limited, optional shared spaces." Regardless of the game's exact structure, the Fable reboot needs a few things to be better than Fable 3: player character-shaping moral choices, goofy side quests, and a fun, customizable action combat system.
Fable will release for PC and Xbox Series X on a yet-unspecified date in the future.
