Fable Is Hard To Bring Back In The Same Way Star Wars Was, Xbox Boss Says

One of the surprise announcements at Microsoft's July Xbox games showcase was a new Fable game from developer Playground. Very little is known about this project, and it's likely still very far off. With so long away from the franchise, the developers know the expectations are high. It appears they're up to the challenge.

Xbox Games Studios boss Matt Booty has now spoken about the challenge of reviving the Fable series, saying it's not unlike the situation Disney finds itself in when it makes a new Star Wars movie. You want to respect the history of the brand but also push things forward, Booty said.

"With any kind of franchise like that, where you've had existing versions, there's always that balance between what you're going to bring forward, what still stands up, and what you want to add that's new," Booty told The Guardian. "It's like the challenge of making a new Star Wars movie--there's stuff that everyone wants you to bring along, but then you've got a responsibility to take that to new places and I trust Playground has a good vision for that."

With the frog-eats-the-fairy sequence, the first teaser trailer for the new Fable game seemed to suggest that the franchise's lighthearted nature will continue. The trailer ended by panning up to show a large, sprawling map that seems to be the setting for the new Fable game.

The Fable series was created by Peter Molyneux at Lionhead Studios. The franchise debuted in 2004, with sequels Fable II and Fable III releasing in 2008 and 2010, respectively. A Kinect game, Fable: The Journey, was released in 2012, while a remaster of the first game launched in 2014.

A new game, Fable Legends, was in development at Lionhead until Microsoft shuttered the game studio and canceled the game.

The new Fable game--which is simply called Fable--is in development at Forza Horizon developer Playground by its second team. In 2017, Playground opened a second office to work on a non-racing game, and we now know that it's the new Fable game.