A lot of eyes are on the upcoming Fable reboot, but not all of them are watching for the best reasons. Of course, there's the disappointing but predictable backlash from certain gamers with respect to the appearance of Fable's protagonist—discourse that is misogyny masked as criticism—but there are other reasons to be wary of the game as well. Indeed, the optics surrounding Fable have been far from universally positive.
Among the most common concerns raised about Fable relates to the snail's pace of its promotional strategy. It's slated for a 2026 release date, but virtually no gameplay has been shown. Every once in a while, Playground Games will release a trailer, which may look promising, but does virtually nothing to illuminate how the game will actually play. These trailers have all been focused on the tone and broad-strokes narrative of Fable, rather than its mechanical or structural particulars. This has drawn comparisons between Fable and the likes of The Elder Scrolls 6, another game that is infamous for its premature reveal and dearth of meaningful public information. With Fable supposedly coming out next year, there's no better time for Playground Games to change the narrative.
It's worth noting that many have also grown concerned about Fable due to its developer: Playground Games is best known for its work on the Forza Horizon franchise which, while great in its own right, has little to no overlap with the open-world fantasy RPG space.
What to Expect From Fable 4 in 2025
While few specifics are known about its gameplay, story, and release date, Playground Games' Fable reboot is nonetheless expected to arrive in 2025.
Why Now Is the Right Time To Pull Back the Curtain On Fable
Fable Needs To Give Audiences Something Tangible Soon
Right now, some folks are grouping Fable together with the likes of The Elder Scrolls 6, Mass Effect 4, and other games that are widely considered to have been revealed before they should have been. This isn't totally unreasonable, as Fable was first revealed back in 2020 with a flashy logo animation, not unlike how The Elder Scrolls 6 was unveiled in 2018. But Fable is undeniably further along in its development than The Elder Scrolls 6, and it's about time that its marketing reflects that.
Providing audiences with another trailer, or better yet, a proper gameplay showcase, could do a lot to silence the Elder Scrolls 6 comparisons. Maybe Fable was indeed revealed too early, but Playground Games surely has something meaty to show after all these years of development, and this sort of exhibition would help nab public favor. It would also serve to assuage the concerns of Playground Games struggling with Fable's development, which is a story that was circling in games media a few years ago.
What Should Fable's Next Trailer Focus On?
Gameplay is the most crucial element to expose in the next bit of Fable promo content. Modern audiences simply aren't impressed by pretty CGI trailers at this point: they need to see how the game actually functions in real-time. As such, the next Fable trailer ought to be mostly or entirely composed of in-engine gameplay footage, which could help to reveal what the "meat" of the game will look and feel like. More specifically, an extended look at gameplay would be nice—quick shots of combo finishers or explosive spells won't do much to paint a vivid picture of the final product.
Additionally, a closer look at Fable's story and RPG elements would be nice. These are design pillars that have varied quite radically across the Fable franchise, and with this Fable reboot releasing so long after the last proper entry in the series, it can be expected to be a particularly significant departure in these respects. By being a bit more forthright, Playground Games has a chance to completely change the narrative around Fable, for the better.
- Released
- 2026
- Developer(s)
- Playground Games
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
- Engine
- unreal engine 4, forza tech
- Franchise
- Fable
WHERE TO PLAY
Fable is an RPG developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft. Set in Albion, the game challenges players to define what it means to be a hero.
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Windows, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
