The Fable franchise has been dormant since 2012, but Playground Games is bringing it back with a full reboot simply titled Fable. The game was first announced in 2020 with a planned 2025 release, but has since been pushed to 2026. This marks a fresh start for the franchise rather than continuing where previous games left off.
In this article, we’ll explore everything we know about the upcoming Fable reboot, including its release date, gameplay mechanics, story details, and confirmed features.
The Original Fable
Lionhead Studios created the original Fable in 2004 as a rich, textured fantasy RPG set in Albion, a world steeped in British folklore and humor. The game let players meaningfully affect the world through their choices, building a character whose actions shaped both their appearance and how NPCs treated them.
The morality system tracked everything you did. Commit evil acts, and your character would grow horns, develop red eyes, and emanate a dark aura. Follow the path of good, and you’d glow with a holy light. NPCs responded accordingly, treating heroes with admiration and villains with fear.
Microsoft’s mismanagement killed the franchise. In 2012, the publisher forced Lionhead to abandon plans for a traditional Fable 4 and develop Fable Legends, a free-to-play 4v1 multiplayer game meant to compete with League of Legends. After spending an estimated $75 million over four years, Microsoft cancelled Fable Legends in March 2016 and shut down Lionhead Studios the following month.
The Gameplay and Character Creation
The new Fable includes over 1,000 handcrafted NPCs with their own personalities, routines, and voice acting. Players can romance and marry any of them, own multiple properties, and run businesses across Albion’s settlements. The game lets you build an entire life beyond just combat and quests.
The morality system works differently from the original games. Instead of a good versus evil slider that gave you horns or halos, the reboot tracks witnessed actions. If NPCs see you kick chickens or steal, you build specific reputations in that town. Different people react differently based on their own values, so you can be loved in one settlement and hated in another.
Playground Games confirmed the game has character customization. Players customize their hero’s appearance and start as a child before jumping to adulthood. Combat uses “style-weaving” that lets you instantly switch between melee, ranged, and magic attacks without delay.
The Story
Playground Games is treating the new Fable as a complete reboot. The studio chose not to continue the timeline or characters from the original trilogy, giving themselves the freedom to build their own version of Albion and tell a new story.
The story kicks off in Briar Hill, your home village, where you discover your heroic powers as a child. After a time jump to adulthood, a mysterious stranger shows up and turns your grandmother and everyone else in the village to stone.
Your grandmother mentions the Heroes’ Guild in Bowerstone before she’s petrified, pointing you toward help, but the game doesn’t force you to follow the main quest. You can chase down the stranger to save your village, or you can ignore it completely and do whatever you want in Albion.
The Release Date
Fable has a release window set for Autumn 2026. This was revealed during the Xbox Developer Direct on January 22, 2026, where Playground Games showed the first extended gameplay footage and confirmed the game would launch on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5.
The autumn window means Fable should release sometime between September and December 2026, putting it ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is scheduled for November 19, 2026.
Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan addressed the proximity to GTA VI’s release, stating that Rockstar will “do what they’re going to do” and that his focus is on giving each Xbox game its own space to breathe.
Final Words
Fable’s return after over a decade marks a fresh start for the franchise. Playground Games is rebooting the series, giving themselves the freedom to build their own vision of Albion while keeping what made the originals special.
After years of delays and silence, Playground Games has finally shown what they’ve been working on, and it looks like the wait might be worth it.