Fable’s reboot seems like it was a long time coming. There hasn’t been a new core installment in theFablefranchise since 2010, which is an awfully long drought. Technically,Fable Fortuneis the most recent installment in the franchise, but unfortunate the digital trading card game from 2017 has since been shut down. There really isn’t any more representation forFableout there anymore. Thankfully,Fablehas found a new home in the hands of Playground Games since Lionhead Games' closure. Rumors floated around about a franchise revival for a couple years, but now fans know for sure that a reboot is coming.
Now the question iswhen theFablereboot will release. Playground Games has shown almost nothing about the game since it was officially revealed, and soFable’s state of development is mostly up to conjecture. It’s entirely possible thatFablewon’t be out for a great many years, which would be an awful disappointment for fans. Seeing as the community has waited a decade for a new mainlineFablegame, fans aren’t exactly eager to wait another two to three years forFableto come out. Unfortunately, betweenFable’s mysterious status and Microsoft’s new habit of early announcements, it could be a long time beforeFablecomes out.
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Moving Fable Forward
Even if it wasn’t exactly a traditionalFablegame,Fable Fortuneremains the best recent touchstonefor the franchise. After all, it started out as Lionhead’s handiwork, and even after the studio closed, many of its developers kept working onFable Fortune.This card game first opened its doors to early access players in the summer of 2017, and then it released fully in February 2018. That means it’s been about three years sinceFablefans have seen any sign of life from the franchise, which isn’t too long, even if it’s been much longer since a normalFablegame came out.
However, the announcement of theFablereboot isn’t the same as a newFablegame coming out three years later. Under normal circumstances, it’d make sense that a newFablegame could be made in the three years between now andFable Fortune’s release. That’s not quite the case. TheFableIP spent a couple years being handed from studio to studio, and only now does it seem to be solidly under Playground Games' control. That kind of instability explains whytheFablereboot’s announcementdoesn’t come with a release date. It probably still has a lot of development ahead of it.
Ideally, that won’t slow the game down too much. Playground Games isn’t a big enough studio to have a ton of projects to manage at a time, so it’ll ideally be pretty focused on releasingFableon time. On the other hand, if it’s going to be more than a year or two beforeFablecomes out, then it seems like the game should’ve stayed a secret for now.Fable’s drought has been so difficultand protracted that it needs to come out soon and hit the ground running. It’s facing too much competition from other fantasy RPGs to linger in a long development and make its fans anxious.
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Contrasting Fable and its Peers
Considering how important it is thatFablereleases on time, it’s interesting to compare its theoretical release schedule to some other games. The best possible example isThe Elder Scrolls 6,which Bethesda says won’t release for many years. That makes it strange and surprising that Bethesda took the time to confirm the game already. Sitting on the public knowledge ofThe Elder Scrolls 6without addressingit at all seems like a surefire way to make fans impatient for news.
The difference betweenFableandThe Elder Scrolls,though, is thatThe Elder Scrollshasn’t gone anywhere. Even though there hasn’t been a numbered single-player entry inThe Elder Scrollsin ten years,Skyrimalone is so unbelievably successful that Bethesda hasn’t needed to release a new game.Skyrimjust keeps coming back and deliveringevery time. The success ofThe Elder Scrolls: Onlineshould also be noted. Even though the main games haven’t been updated beyond a deluge ofSkyrimremasters,The Elder Scrollsis going strong.
To be sure,Elder Scrollsfans are disappointed to know thatStarfieldis coming beforeElder Scrolls 6,and fans have wanted a new game in the series for a long time. Despite that,Fable’s situation is still completely different from that ofThe Elder Scrolls.Nobody has been producing endless content for the franchise to keep fans sated in the meantime. While there’s all kinds ofElder Scrollsgames to play right now, there’s really no newFablecontent for fans to enjoy right now. That’s what makes the long wait ahead ofElder Scrolls 6more bearable while simultaneously framing how important it is that theFablereboot comes out soon.
Fable’s Rebirth
Playground Games shouldn’t rushFable,of course, but it also can’t afford to take forever to release the reboot. There’s big next-gen competitors on the way that the old schoolFablewill have to stand up to. Obsidian Entertainment, often acknowledged as a master of RPGs, hasAvowedcoming to Microsoft platforms down the line.Elden Ringis sure to be another competitortoFablewhenever it releases, drawing in fantasy fans who prefer darker tones. As much as theFableIP deserves a comeback, the near future is also a difficult time for it to do so. One of the best ways it can undercut these competitors is by coming out ahead of them if possible.
At the very least, Playground Games ought to giveFablefans an update on the state of the game. Thankfully, E3 2021 is coming up, so there’s a chance thatMicrosoft will make a placefor Playground Games to addressFableand show off a few things. For a while, it wasn’t clear thatFablewould ever return to its formal glory. Now that a reboot of the franchise is officially on Microsoft and Playground’s docket, there’s hope for big new things for the franchise. Even if it’s a solid game, though, release dates matter.Fablewould be best off making its comeback sooner rather than later.
Fableis in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
