Fable II golden

Three years after the release of Fable: The Lost Chapters, the expanded PC edition of the Xbox role-playing game Fable, Lionhead Studios has struck gold again. Today on its official Web site, the shop headed by oft-honored designer Peter Molyneux announced that Fable II is in production. The Xbox 360 exclusive will ship in North America on October 21 for $59.99, going up against the PlayStation 3-only LittleBigPlanet.

According to Lionhead, Fable II is a "reworked, recreated, [and] expanded" follow-up to its critically acclaimed forbearer. It promises a world 10 times the size of the original and increasingly complex moral choices which will lead to irrevocable, game-changing results. Players can have a male or female character, own a dog, marry, have children, and even buy property. However, unlike other RPGs, enemies won't simply drop gold when killed. Characters will have to either earn it through jobs--including the coveted "henchman" position--or by gambling in the crossover title Fable II Pub Games on Xbox Live Arcade.

As with many big-name releases, Fable II will be available in standard and collector's-edition packages, with the latter selling for for $79.99. The extra $20 will give gamers a bonus disc with making-of content, a figurine of the game's Hobbe creature, an in-game dungeon and cutlass, a trial Xbox Live Gold membership, and five printed "fate cards."

For more on Fable II, check out GameSpot's previous coverage, including a recent hands-on preview straight from Lionhead's UK HQ.