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Fable has been delayed to 2027, and Xbox had to be sneaky about it. The news came buried in the middle of a tweet, which, despite masquerading a list of how many excellent new games are set to launch in 2026 – only three of the six being Xbox-owned IPs – turned out to be a Trojan horse.
Xbox explains its reasoning as being made with its players in mind. By moving the goalpost to February next year, the delay would help Xbox "plan [its] game launches through the holidays" and give the upcoming RPG "the dedicated moment it deserves". Launching in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto 6 is no developer's idea of a good time, but if this delay is supposed to be a great gift from Microsoft that spares us the ineffable torment of having too many good things to play all at once, it's a pretty strange gift. It has me wondering if the real reason is that Fable needs more time to cook – and if that's true, why not just say so?
War of the words
The new Fable looks great so far, but I just have one question: where's the dog?
I really don't mind when games are delayed if it's done for the sake of a better experience. Cyberpunk 2077 has taught us all a lesson, and it's that if something needs more time before it's up to scratch, better it launch late than as a bug-riddled mess.
But Xbox's announcement does not tout game improvements as the reason for Fable's delay. Rather, it cites the existence of six other games, half of which still lack release dates. Something doesn't sit right with me about this: if the game is finished, surely it should just… launch. If it isn't finished, just tell us and I promise you, we will survive the disappointment. And if it's been shifted to avoid launching in the shadow of GTA 6 – which is how I read between the lines of the tweet, personally – Xbox's vague excuses make sense from a business perspective.
From a fan and player's perspective, they don't. True, we still have Gears of War: E-Day, Clockwork Revolution, and O.D. among the biggest upcoming Xbox Series X games in development right now, but only one of those is likely to get a release date in 2026. Fable was supposed to be Xbox's big game of the year for Series X/S and PC players alike, and pushing its one and only Xbox exclusive to 2027 feels strange off the back of Xbox's recent management changes.
There's also the tacit notion that GTA 6 would somehow markedly affect Fable's sale. But would it really? Xbox seems to be making a lot of inferences about its players that make it believe so. For starters, that everyone and their mother is interested in playing GTA 6 (note: personally, I could take or leave it). Secondly, that everyone has a console to play it on. According to Medium, the global number of PC players vastly outstrips that of console owners by hundreds of millions. That's millions of people who will not have access to GTA 6 at launch, not to mention the vast number of open world fantasy RPG nerds who'd rather cause havoc in Albion than rob banks in Vice City.
This is a crucial time for Xbox to demonstrate its ability to deliver on promises
GTA 6 will be a huge cultural event, but that doesn't mean every single person who plays video games will want to play the exact same video games. Withholding a title just because there's a desire to launch in its own special spot does not feel like a viable way to schedule game launches; if it wasn't for GTA 6, it could be any other game, only Xbox wouldn't have quite as strong a leg to stand on in defending a delay for that specific purpose.
Whether Fable's delay is down to GTA 6 fears or a need for further polish (or a mix of both), we'll be getting a few more answers soon. There's only days to go before the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, and sadly, my top prediction now lies in semi-tatters. No, I don't think we will get a Fable release date after all – the February 2027 window might have to suffice – but we have been promised a sizable glimpse of Fable and a deep-dive into Gears of War: E-Day. It might just be enough to demonstrate why Xbox wants to zero in on Gears and the new Call of Duty game above all else right now. The changing of the guard means that this is a crucial time for Xbox to demonstrate its ability to deliver on promises, and hopefully, my worn-down patience might get a fresh lick of paint as the wait for Fable drags on.
Fable is one of the best fantasy RPG series of all time, and there's plenty more besides.
