Microsoft has announced a delay for the highly anticipated Fable reboot, pushing its release from 2025 to 2026. This news came alongside the first look at new pre-alpha gameplay footage during the latest episode of the Xbox Podcast.
Fable, a beloved franchise originally developed by the now-defunct Lionhead Studios, is being revived by UK's Playground Games, renowned for their critically acclaimed Forza Horizon series. In the podcast, Craig Duncan, former head of Rare and current head of Xbox Game Studios, expressed enthusiasm about the project's progress and reassured fans that the additional time would be well worth it.
Duncan emphasized Playground's legacy of delivering high-quality games, citing their Forza Horizon titles which have consistently achieved a 92 Metacritic score and won numerous awards. He praised the team's approach to Fable, promising stunning visuals, engaging gameplay, and the signature British humor that the series is known for. The new version of Albion, he noted, would be the most beautifully realized to date.
Alongside the delay announcement, Microsoft unveiled 50 seconds of pre-alpha gameplay. The footage included various combat scenes featuring different weapons like a one-handed sword, a two-handed hammer, and a two-handed sword, as well as a fireball magic attack. Other scenes showed the main character navigating city streets, riding a horse through a fantasy forest, and engaging in a humorous interaction with a chicken. A cutscene also depicted a trap set with sausages to lure a werewolf-like creature, leading to a subsequent fight.
The Fable reboot, first announced in 2020 as a "new beginning," has been progressively revealed through various showcases. In 2023, Richard Ayoade from The IT Crowd featured in a trailer, and last year, during the Xbox Showcase event in June 2024, another trailer was presented. This reboot marks the first mainline Fable game since Fable 3 in 2010 and is one of the most eagerly awaited titles from Xbox Game Studios.
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