The history of Fable gaming is one racked with highs and lows, and it even starts off with a mournful death. Peter Molyneux, Mark Webley, Tim Rance, and Steve Jackson left Bullfrog Productions and came to Electronic Arts to form Lionhead Studios in July 1997. The name of the company was the passing of Mark’s hamster, who had departed this cruel world just a week before Lionhead Studio was formed. Soon after that, they haven’t been known for much more other than their work with the Fable Franchise, with their first release in 2004 for the Xbox. Ever since that time, Gamers have loved and wanted more, and now we have much-wanted information on Fable’s future.
A New Fable Game Is Long Overdue
When Fable was introduced, gamers were filled with highly entertaining stories and were able to play an important role between impressionable characters. Players were overwhelmed with the sheer number of choices changing the game as well as how their character was treated, along with hundreds of weapons, items, clothes, armor, and spells to use. Fable Changed the way gamers played.
The first Fable is set around the land of Albion, where you are a boy who is forced to be a hero after bandits attack his village, murdering his father and taking his sister. In the quests set before him are side missions, trade, romance, and exploring. Almost every decision affects the game, shaped around your choice.
Fable II Was Released October 21, 2008
Its sequel takes place 500 years after the first game in a time of highway robbers, philosophy, and intellectual growth. The land of Albion has changed to one of modern science and ideas swirling around the religious magic of ancient times. The small villages have bloomed into cities; weaponry has advanced with iron and gunpowder. The world has expanded in every way, including challenges and choices.
Its story surrounds all parts of the first game, remembering a forgotten hero or villain that once was. The map is larger but presents few places to visit. Its story differs from its predecessor as it now develops from the main character’s situation in that time and place. It adds a sense of more interactive situations.
Fable III sold 3 million units on the original Xbox
In Fable III, the champion is placed only 50 years after Fable II. In that time frame, a great deal happened, as the land of Albion was in the middle of an Industrial Revolution. There are groups, both positive and negative, striving for power now that the world has changed to an overall togetherness of economy and society. Now, the mission is to survive and overthrow the oppressive king and his followers, as well as stay away from hostile invaders.
Over the six years of development, releases of Fable II and III were all very successful, and then in October 2012, Fable: The Journey, a spin-off within the series, was released. Next came Fable Anniversary: The Lost Chapters two years later called the Fable Trilogy. It’s a compilation of the Fable II and III games. All of which came with poor reviews reflecting negative sales.
Fable’s Woes And Continued Problems
The next year, Lionhead Studios released a teaser trailer for a game set to be released on the Xbox One called Fable Legends: Age of Heroes. Its story would take place long before any of the other Fable games. The gameplay was going to revolutionize the Fable Trilogy of gameplay, where the Hero of the story would play alongside four other players. Another player would choose to be a Villain facing against the four or a hero. Unfortunately, the project was canceled after being in the works for three years when Microsoft canceled it.
Sadly, the Fable franchise is a project that started an immersive movement, tipping gamers’ scales toward it. Then, as spin-off games were introduced and hated, and the only things offered were ones that players already had, the following died off.
Yet a new Fable game has been in the work as far back as 2018. Playground Games studio hired almost 200 people to develop an open-world role-playing game. Then, in 2020, the Xbox Showcase announced that the game was in development and would be released for the Xbox Series X/S. It was promised that the Forza Tech in-house game engine would be used. A year later, Microsoft added Eidos-Montreal to be co-developer and, a year ago, reported that the game was in the early stages of full production, adding the first trailer.
The Next In The Fable Series, Fable IV
Fable IV is slated to be released sometime next year. We know that we will be returning to Albion from two trailers, where we will be a Hero trained by Albion’s best-retired hero, Humphry. One of his other students seems to have learned well but turned to doing everything wrong. The majority of the trailers depict the character’s hero’s love/hate relationship with the common folk but still hold to its core the choice determining the game’s surroundings.
The trailer’s overall theme is a humorous tone that a hero’s life isn’t all that it is cracked up to be. As heroes go about their daily business, they are also plagued with passionate cringy fans, hero haters, romantic hopefuls, mysterious trees possessed of evil bugs, giant toads, yeah toads, bandits with something mystical evil behind in the shadows surrounding the story.
At its heart, it makes a hero respect that there can be a villain in the making within their guile. Everyone can become that which they hate while trying to destroy that which they hate. So, as the hero shows sword fighting skills through magic fireballs between stealing drinks while strolling through taverns and engaging with commoners, there will always be beasts to slay.
As with all Fable games, this is set to be an RPG that will be playable on the Xbox Series X and PC only. There have been some concerns about having a new group work on the Fable projects. Lionhead Studios is gone, and they have employed a Forza game crew.
The City Of Albion Never Looked So Good
Co-creator Simon Carter addresses this issue in an interview when he spoke with Eurogamer when the game was first announced,
“I have slightly mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s great for the UK games industry, and very pleasing that Fable isn’t dead; indeed, it will be lovely to play one as a punter, without coming out in hives. On the other, it is a little curious to get rid of the team that is uniquely expert in making Fable, and then try and make Fable. Fable is a weird game, and a tough one to deconstruct for a new team. That said, the team in question is very talented, and I’m sure they’ll do a fantastic job.”
The judgment calls that EA has made with the Fable Games haven’t brought them the best press. During the Fable series of production, EA was in a state of high acquisition and growth. They were buying smaller companies that were already heavily involved in the development of their own projects. They were labeled as a subsequent giant, taking out the smaller competition.
Despite its reputation for throwing a lot of money and capitalizing on other companies’ work, EA has a high employee rating of 4 to 5 stars. They have also turned out several of the most profitable games, such as FIFA, The Sims, Need for Speed, Madden NFL, and more. Their pattern for success is proven.
Will It Work?
A great deal of the original Xbox’s success was due to its launch with Halo. However, something must be said about Fable’s original release, which changed RPG games forever. Fable was one of the most dynamic open RPG games ever for a console system. Its fantasy adventure turned heads and made fans who loved the combat and the British humor that stayed on the edge of spinning out of control but was just enough for gamers.
So much is set and invested in the imminent success of Fable IV. Some points haven’t been confirmed at this time regarding the story, changeable characters, and how good or bad the main character can be. Also, no release date has been offered. There is a great deal of media predicting its downfall and items that the game must employ to succeed. This is a must-success for the Fable franchise as if it falls short of expectations and hope, Fable will probably never recover.
For More Great Content
Total Apex is an all-encompassing content producer. We provide detailed daily articles on entertainment, gaming, sports, and so much more! Check out all our great sports content at Total Apex Sports. Check us out on X @TotalApexEandG and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
