Fable officially delayed to 2026
On the Official Xbox Podcast, the head of Xbox Game Studios confirmed that Fable has been delayed to 2026. Don't worry, it will be „worth the wait.”.
Today, Microsoft has officially delayed Fable to 2026. The modern reboot of the classic fantasy RPG series has been one of Xbox Game Studios’ most highly anticipated upcoming releases of the last few years. Until today’s announcement, it was expected to be released some time this year. It has built up that reputation with a few stunning trailers at the last two Xbox summer showcases. Fans will have to be patient, but this could end up being a good decision.
Xbox fantasty RPG, Fable, delayed to 2026, devs will take another year to work on the game
Playground Games, the team behind the Forza Horizon, series, are working on the reboot of Fable, which was originally developed by the now closed Lionhead Studios. There have been a handful of spin-offs and standalone titles like Fable: The Journey in 2012, but the last mainline entry in the series was Fable 3 in 2010. This year marks the fifteenth year since the last major Fable game. The trailers look promising, but hopefully this new reboot lives up to the series’ legacy.
In a new episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan shared the news of the delay. Duncan started off the topic of Fable by talking about how excited he is about Playground’s progress, but “we are actually going to give Fable more time and it’s going to ship in 2026 now. 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.” This topic was saved towards the end of the podcast, which also showed some new gameplay.
Duncan continued to praise the studio working on Fable, adding: “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.” The Forza Horizon series is very well known for its graphical fidelity, so it makes sense that the team would keep that level of quality. But it will be interesting to see how this works with a complex fantasy RPG versus an arguably more contained racing series.
Finally, Duncan added: “I want the community to understand that we do these things for the best of the games, and the teams, and ultimately that results in the best games, or the best game for the community.” Ultimately, while fans would have been excited to get their hands on Fable later this year, this is good news. A delay like this means that Playground and Xbox believe the finished product will be well worth the added development time and cost, which could bode well for the eventual release. Nothing would be more disappointing than for Fable to finally return so many years later and release to underwhelming reviews.
