Previously slated for 2025, Playground Games’ Fable is now launching in 2026. The delay was announced by Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan, who noted that the company is “really excited about the progress, really excited where Playground are.”
The reason for the delay is to give Fable “more time.” Acknowledging that it’s not what fans may want to hear, “What I want to assure people of, is that it’s definitely worth the wait.” Duncan further progressed his “unequivocal confidence” in the development team, citing their success with the Forza Horizon series.
“The last two games [Forza Horizon 4 and 5] – critically acclaimed, award-winning, beautiful, played great. And just what they’re bringing to Fable as a franchise, think of the visuals of what you expect of Playground Games, plus amazing gameplay, British humor, and Playground’s version of Albion – so inspired by what’s gone before with the franchise, but their take.” He also called this the “most beautifully realized version of Albion” ever seen.
“So really excited about the plans and really excited about the future, and 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.”
As a reboot of Lionhead Studios’ action RPG series, Fable has been in the works for a long time. It was announced in 2020, though by 2021, it was discovered to have already been in development for at least four years. Rumors emerged about issues affecting the project before in-engine footage on the Xbox Series X was revealed in 2023.
Microsoft announced a 2025 release window last year while providing another new trailer, and Eidos Montreal was later confirmed to be assisting in development. There are also rumors of Fable coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 with nothing official. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.
