Fable Creator Peter Molyneux Shares His Ideas For Fable 4

A report last week claimed that "Microsoft is working on Fable 4. While still unconfirmed, it is exciting to think about a fourth entry in the RPG series and what new things it might do, being the first new instalment in the core series since 2010's Fable III. Now, Fable creator Peter Molyneux has weighed in with his own ideas for the game.

Though he's not working on it, having left Microsoft back in 2012 to lead his own studio, his perspective is interesting and noteworthy, given that he created the franchise and always has a lot to say. Speaking to IGN, Molyneux said setting the game as a prequel to Fable 1 would be a "perfect" place to tell a story.

This would be a perfect setting for Fable 4, the land of Albion would be much more primitive, the magic much more attuned to nature, the combat much more brutal," he said. "The story would follow the founding members of the heroes guild, why it was set up."

In terms of new gameplay features, Molyneux said he'd like to see Fable 4 have "brutal, visceral, and fluid," combat. The developer also said it would be cool to see your character have permanent scars based from earlier battles. His ideas continue:

"Weapons like short swords, long swords, daggers, spears, longbows, and crossbows all having a there own combat feel and specialties," he said. "The magic system should be revamped with the ability to 'craft' your own unique system. Having a familiar of your choice (bird, cat, dog (goldfish???) ) which assists you with magic and bonds with you."

Molyneux added that he would like to see many more animals and creatures in Fable 4, including small ones and "god-sized" giants, in addition to rideable dragons. He also called for new features like co-op, a marriage system, the option to play in first-person, and more. Go to IGN to read Molyneux's full pitch for Fable 4.

In 2016, Molyneux said it was "crazy" that Fable 4 was not already in development. A year later, after Fable Legends was canceled and developer Lionhead shuttered, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the Fable series has "a lot of places it could go." In October 2017, Xbox first-party games boss Shannon Loftis told GameSpot about Fable, "We love the IP. I can't talk right now about whether we're doing anything with it or not."

Eurogamer reported last week that Forza Horizon developer Playground Games was working on the new Fable game, described by the site as a "big-budget," open-world title that focuses on story and characters. In November, Playground confirmed that it had opened a second studio space where a team of 200 will work on an unannounced AAA open-world action-RPG.

Star Wars: Battlefront II senior producer Sean Eyestone was named director of production on this game, while other new hires include Will Kennedy (former designer for GTA V studio Rockstar North) and Juan Fernandez di Simon (senior designer on Ninja Theory's Hellblade).

We will report back with more details on the next Fable game as they're announced. If an announcement is coming, it could happen at the Xbox E3 2018 briefing, which Microsoft says may be different this year.