Image: Xbox Game Studios
The highly-anticipated action-RPG will now launch sometime next year.
Microsoft has announced a delay for the long-gestating reboot of the Fable franchise. The action-RPG, simply titled Fable, will now launch sometime in 2026, after originally being scheduled for a release this year. Craig Duncan, current head of Xbox Game Studios, confirmed the delay in a new episode of the Official Xbox Podcast.
During the episode, he also showed off a brief snippet of pre-alpha gameplay from Fable:
Microsoft confirms you can punt chickens in Fable
Microsoft is officially delaying its Fable reboot. The action-RPG is being developed by Forza Horizon maker Playground Games, and was first announced all the way back in 2020. In a trailer released last year, Xbox Game Studios announced that the game was slated for a 2025 release window.
That announcement seems rather optimistic in hindsight, considering that the game has now been delayed all the way to 2026. Xbox Game Studios’ Craig Duncan announced the news during an episode of the Official Xbox Podcast dedicated to updates on current and upcoming Xbox games, assuring fans that Fable will be “definitely worth the wait” despite the delay being “not maybe the news people want to hear.”
Duncan said that “We are actually going to give Fable more time, and it’s going to ship in 2026 now.” He seemed quite optimistic about the game despite the delay, noting developer Playground Games’ history of churning out critically-acclaimed Forza Horizon games. He explained:
“And just what they’re bringing to Fable as a franchise, 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.”
Duncan didn’t leave fans with nothing but a delay to look forward to, however. He also showed off a few brief clips of pre-alpha gameplay from Fable, which feature gorgeous environments brought to life with more realism than the typically cartoonish aesthetic of previous Fable games allowed for. The footage also shows off horseback riding, a lot of swordfighting, and chicken-punting.
It wouldn’t be a Fable game if players weren’t able to punt chickens, after all. Duncan teased that he has “played some of the city elements” and “some of the quests, I played some of the combat, I played a boss battle, I've used magic... it felt amazing and I had a great time... I've seen a bunch more than that, I'm very excited. Take my word for it, but hopefully what the team can see here is enough to build excitement."
Fable will now launch sometime in 2026.
