After its long development time and the sheer size of its world, you might be surprised to learn that Playground Games’ Fable takes about 15 to 20 hours to complete. Associate game director Will Kennedy revealed this in a group Q&A session at Gamescom, which Polygon attended, noting that side content is another 15 to 20 hours.
“We have around 15-20 hours of mainline quest gameplay; we have around 15-20 of side and open-world exploration content gameplay. And then, of course, the life systems are limitless, so you can play them for as long as you want.”
When another individual pointed out that it’s “not a huge game,” associate game director Craig Littler said, “As Will just said, you can literally play it forever if that’s what you want to do.”
What the duo are referring to is the multitude of systems, including blacksmithing, interacting with over 1,000 NPCs and either getting on their good side or turning them into sworn enemies, owning properties, starting a family and more. Since your reputation differs in every town, you can craft unique identities based on your decisions.
How long that can keep players entertained remains to be seen. But it is good news for those looking for a reasonably sized story and substantial side quests to complete. It won’t beat Grand Theft Auto 6’s scale or story length anytime soon, but it doesn’t have to.
Fable launches on February 23rd, 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Head here to learn more about how Playground Games is approaching upgrades and aiming for meaningful progression over small increments. Alternatively, you can check out some extensive combat gameplay here.
