The Game Awards had a lot of big announcements from various studios, but Xbox was conspicuous for its absence. Titles like Starfield and Redfall, releasing in the first half of 2023, received no updates. Meanwhile, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Contraband, Indiana Jones, Avowed, Fable and several other titles remain missing.
Jez Corden of Windows Central spoke of this in a new article but also revealed some interesting information on Xbox’s first-party output. He noted that “some” have blamed this on Microsoft’s rules regarding contractor work, which has caused “unnecessary churn that sees projects lose key staff on a higher-than-usual basis.”
However, it seems that there are also some “internal politics” around the engine that games can use. It has led to “developmental problems” for Halo Infinite and Fable, as Microsoft prefers to use its tools rather than, say, Unreal Engine. Contractors must thus be trained to work with these tools, and when they leave the project mid-way – due to Microsoft’s policy – it creates more problems.
Halo Infinite’s troubles have been well-documented, but Fable is somewhat new. Corden said in June that reports regarding scoping concerns for the fantasy RPG were overblown and that development was going “fine.” It very well could be, but Microsoft’s tools and use of contractors might be causing unnecessary delays.
Time will ultimately tell, so stay tuned. Fable is currently in development for Xbox Series X/S and PC.