Fable Release Window Is Finally Revealed After Massive Developer Direct Deep Dive

It's been a long time coming, but Fable is finally back, with a confirmed multi-platform autumn release window across Xbox consoles and services including Play Anywhere, PC, and PlayStation 5. A deep-dive on the new Fable, as well as this release window confirmation, came out during the Xbox Developer Direct along with news of Xbox PC games supporting Windows 11 Arm PCs yesterday. Fans of the original Fable games have endured a long wait for a franchise-faithful entry since 2010's Fable 3, and while the new game is indeed a reboot, it looks both faithful to the originals and improved. to gain the attention of classic and new Fable fans alike.

The new footage and developer commentary paints a positive picture for the upcoming RPG. The scale of this modern Fable game is appropriately open world, but the immersive sim RPG elements have not been dropped. The game will reportedly feature over 1000 unique NPCs with their own daily routines, functional villages, and even subjective moral judgement of your actions. Fable's trademark morality system is still present, but different NPCs will have different values by which your actions are judged. If you're a player who torments chickens, for example, some NPCs will oppose it, while won't mind or will outright encourage it, and if you perform such actions repeatedly, you will develop a reputation in that particular region for tormenting chickens.

This enhanced NPC AI also works in tandem with a job system that allows you to fill any number of roles, ranging from "greedy landlord" to "noted polygamist" to "reliable blacksmith". All of the deep RPG elements of Fable are present, and the "fairytale" tone complete with British humor remains intact too.


But Fable isn't just a simple reboot. An overhauled combat system now features seamless swapping between melee combat, magic, and projectiles, each with several different weapons to utilize. It's a big world with a combat system that seems flush with depth and player expression opportunities. Fable wasn't held in high-regarded for well-balanced combat, with melee being notoriously weak compared to magic in Fable 3, but the options do seem to be more balanced in the upcoming title. It helps that melee has been buffed with strong defensive capabilities in the form of a parry system. Enemy hitstun and melee finishers will also be available, so a melee-focused playstyle with flourishes of ranged pressure and sweeping magical finishers should be a viable playstyle, now.

All told, the new Fable looks to be one of the most promising AAA RPGs we've seen in years. As long as it isn't crippled with technical issues when it launches, we anticipate that a lot of fans old and new will be into it—and if Microsoft is diligent on the Xbox platform support, it may even be playable at launch on Arm PCs via Game Pass without cloud streaming.

Fable game director Ralph Fulton comes across very confident about the game in an extended interview, and based on the work that's been shown this far, that confidence appears justified.