Don't expect the new Fable game to release any time soon

(Image credit: Playground Games)

Playground Games' Fable game might not be release until at least 2022.

We already know that the new Fable adventure is only coming to PC and the Xbox X Series – that much was made clear in the Xbox Games Showcase. But Comic Book has suggested that given Xbox boss Phil Spencer has confirmed that every Xbox Game Studios' title expected to release in the next two years will be coming to both Microsoft's current- and next-gen systems, by not promising the same for the new Fable game, we're unlikely to see it until at least 2022.

While not necessarily surprising – the teaser we saw this week was cinematic and offered no gameplay footage, of course, which suggests the game is in very early development – it might nonetheless help Fable fans better prepare themselves for the expense of next-gen.

"To put the Fable franchise - and give it a completely fresh start - in the hands of one of the greatest game developers in the world, and also right there in England with Playground Games, is sort of a dream come true," said Aaron Greenberg, general manager of Xbox Games Marketing at Microsoft, at the time the new instalment was announced.

"We're letting them get a fresh start with the franchise and really you can see it's still got the classic British humour that's really true to the franchise, it's obviously going to be a role-playing game, we've got the best folks in the industry working on it. Today was just the reveal of the game, and we're excited to officially say Fable's coming, and we'll share more when we're ready."

The new Fable game will be reportedly an MMO set in Lionhead's fantasy universe and not a direct sequel to the original trilogy. As we reported yesterday, the rumour derives from a French journalist, who accurately predicted the entire Xbox Games Showcase lineup ahead of the stream yesterday, and thus has form for leaking unverified information on upcoming Xbox Series X games.