The biggest no-show of this month's Xbox Developer Direct isn't fooling me. It's been a long time since Playground Games let us glimpse its upcoming Fable reboot, but that second cinematic trailer revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 is still on my mind. Humphry's alcohol-soaked soliloquy on herodom frames the swashbuckling medieval fantasy realm of Albion with fittingly tongue-in-cheek humor, but for all the RPG flavor it paints for the game, the trailer did its job by leaving plenty more questions than answers.
I'd expect nothing less. As one of the biggest upcoming Xbox Series X games slated to launch in 2025, Fable's elusivity only feeds into its mystique. With the likes of Avowed and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 now just weeks away from launch, I'm hoping the industry is whetting its appetite for one of the most beloved and best RPG series to make a dazzling comeback – eventually.
Unwritten legends
The new Fable looks great so far, but I just have one question: where's the dog?
Here's what we do know about Fable right now: we know it will be a third person RPG with melee and magical combat, we know that it's still brimming with the dry British humor of the original trilogy and stars Richard Ayoade as a disgruntled giant, and we know that it's being developed by Forza studio Playground Games. And that, quite frankly, is pretty much it.
I'll be the first person to admit that when I realized Fable would be a no-show at the Developer Direct last week, I was immediately disheartened. But in a way, its notable absence feels somewhat significant in itself. It speaks to how Fable's shroud of secrecy is more than enough to keep the fires of our imagination well stoked, even without any new gameplay to tide us over.
Part of this self-fueled excitement is the series prestige. It's been 15 years since Fable 3 launched, shortly before Lionheart Studios permanently shuttered and took all hopes of a Fable 4 with it – for a time. With such a lengthy period separating the original from the reboot, Fable's legacy really is the only thing we have to base our expectations upon. We're no stranger to theorizing here at 12DOVE; that second trailer had my mind racing with hopes for a more refined return of the morality system, while one of our freelancers has her wannabe homeowner sights set on buying Richard Ayoade's crib should the game steal Fable 2's real estate mechanic. And who is Humphry talking about in that second trailer? Our hero, or the mysterious "rival hero" whose villainous return is merely hinted at in its final moments?
I know that we're all aching for more Fable, but for now, let Playground cook.
I don't have any answers for you to any of the above. But that doesn't matter. No matter what direction the Fable reboot takes, the fact is that it's already won me over. For that, I'm shifting the credit over to Playground Games for visibly committing to rebooting the series by giving it a new, modern facelift on every discernible level. If the stunning photorealistic graphics weren't enough to get me on side, doing away with the more storybook and cartoonish style of the original to present a more sophisticated take on Albion – along with the look of the combat, all sleek bows and arrows and glowing orbs of magic – certainly has. The oversimplified combat mechanics were one of the things that felt notably dated when I last replayed Fable 1, my Hero's supposedly valiant endeavors largely consisting of button mashing. A Fable game with modern mechanics and deeper, build-based weaponry is not only enough to attract myself and any fan of the original, but will give newer players their best shot to experience a Fable game in top form – and ok yes, maybe a little bit of button mashing can be abided.
All that to say: I know that we're all aching for more Fable, but for now, let Playground cook. The RPG deserves to have all eyes firmly fixed upon it, and with so many Xbox games launching imminently in the first half of the year – and not to mention the omnipresent shadow of GTA 6 looming overhead – I wouldn't be surprised to see Fable launch closer to the winter months. That is very much just a prediction, much like almost everything else Fable-shaped currently pinging around my brain. But there's beauty in how this game already has so many of us under its thrall, despite what precious little we know about it. All that's left to do is wait a little longer – and hey, what's a few more months after 15 years?
Fable is one of our most anticipated games of 2025. Check out what else we're keeping firmly on our radar.
