Fable 4: Everything you need to know about the new Fable game

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Fable 4 is officially known as Fable, and it's officially landing next February, with a 2027 release confirmed.

Set to come our way from Forza Horizon 6 developer, Playground Games, the studio is putting its own mark on an open world version of Albion in what will be a true reboot. Following the Xbox Developer Direct showcase at the start of the year, which gave us our first proper look at the upcoming RPG, Fable made another appearance during Xbox's dedicated showcase as part of the Summer Game Fest schedule for 2026.

With Playground's Fable set to bring us a more nuanced morality system, plenty of customization options, and more, you can still expect it capture the series trademark sense of humor. To learn more about the exciting new game, read on as I break down everything you need to know about Fable, from its trailers to interviews with Playground, and much more.

Fable 4 news

Fable 4 release date confirmed

Fable 4 screenshot of lush forests and a tree framing a city in the distance — (Image credit: Microsoft)

The Fable release date is set for February 23, 2026.

Playground Games confirmed the official release date during the Xbox Game Showcase 2026, which dropped a new trailer.

Not long before the showcase, Xbox confirmed in a tweet that Fable's been delayed to 2027 from its previous Autumn 2026 window, "so it can have the dedicated moment it deserves". The tweet cited the release of big releases landing in 2026 - such as GTA 6 and Control Resonant - as the reasoning behind the decision to push back the RPG's release.

This 2026 launch window was initially revealed during the Xbox Developer Direct in January 2026,

Fable 4 platforms

Fable 4 trailer screenshot of a character cheering in a pub — (Image credit: Playground Games)

Playground's Fable is confirmed to launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

That's right, originally we thought PS5 players would have to wait, but the Fable is also among the lineup upcoming PS5 games set to arrive in 2027.

Fable 4 trailers

So far, we've had multiple Fable 4 trailers, and the good news is that you can find all of them here to watch at your own leisure. The first trailer above sets the fantasy tone of the upcoming game while also giving us some cheeky laughs as well. Swords, magic, fairies, Albion glimmering in the distance - all the Fable ingredients seem to be in the teaser. The voiceover is familiar, too; it just screams Royal Shakespeare Company.

"The world is filled with stories of legendary heroes and treacherous villains. Of fantastical creatures and wondrous places. Where nature and magic live in perfect harmony. Not all stories have happy endings! But yours has yet to be written."

The second teaser (aka the first full Fable 4 trailer) dropped at the Xbox Games Showcase 2023. It revealed IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade is playing a wooden glasses-wearing giant called Dave, who describes himself as a vegetable enthusiast but actually acts as a boss fight in the game. It's got some brilliant British humor in it, particularly the use of the word wanker.

We have the third teaser, which was shown at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. In this clip, we revisit the topic of herodom as seen in the first reveal. In a continuation of the mockumentary-style presentation as in the first trailer, Playground's latest sneak peek shows retired swashbuckler Humphrey giving his honest advice and memoirs to would-be heroes of Albion.

And finally, below we have the most recent looks at the game that came from the 2026 Xbox Developer Direct in January and the Xbox Games Showcase 2026. Here, you'll find a lengthy segment breaking down some exciting gameplay details!

Fable 4 gameplay

Fable is set to be an open-world action RPG that will put us in the role of one of the first heroes in a generation. Just like games past, we'll start out as a child in the "sleepy village" of Briar Hill. Our heroic powers then manifest during a moment of danger, but disaster strikes shortly after when a mysterious stranger turns everyone in the village to stone. This event sets you on a path out into the wider world on an adventure that "will shape Albion forever". Oooh.

As the Xbox Developer Direct revealed, the Albion we'll be exploring will be "truly open-world for the first time", and we'll be able to venture out early on in the game. In classic Fable fashion, we'll be able to shape our journey in a myriad of ways, with a new, more nuanced morality system that won't effect your physical appearance, and is connected to the living population of the world.

With over 1000 NPCs across various settlements, your reputation will be based on what the NPCs know and see you've done, and since every NPC is said to be uniquely different — with their own personalities, traits, and likes – how they react to how you choose to behave, or the actions you take, will depend on their own worldviews.

Excitingly, Fable will also see the return of jobs like blacksmithing that you can do to earn money. And for those who loved being a property mogul, you'll be happy to know that you can once again purchase houses and businesses to build your own property empire. Plus, you can also run those businesses, with the option to hire NPCs you meet.

What's more, you can also date and marry the NPCs you encounter, have kids, and maybe get divorced. It sounds like so many of the life-sim elements are making a comeback in a big way. While we'll have plenty of people to meet during our adventures, it has been confirmed that no dog will feature in this adventure as our faithful companion this time around.

Our choices are said to have various ripple effects throughout the world, with one example being how we decide to handle a gardener who drinks a potion that turns them into a giant (played by Richard Ayoade). Should you kill him, for example, his body will be strewn across the landscape in a part of the world for the rest of the game.

Fable 4 combat

Fable's combat will see us be able to wield a sword, ranged weapon, and magic not unlike the original games. But Playground Games is setting out to make the combat more fluid and approachable this time around, with heavy and light attacks, and combos and stylish finishers thrown into the mix.

Speaking with GamesRadar+, general manager Ralph Fulton said: "We really wanted to honor the strength, skill and will concept of the original games, and our goal with combat in this game was to make something extremely fluid, extremely approachable, but extremely versatile as well, in a way that allows the player to express themselves within it."

As Fulton explains, that is not just done through the choice of weaponry you pick, but also through "the way they combine those different styles, ranged, melee, and magic, seamlessly within any given combat encounter."

"That was super important to us, the ability to go from, striking with a sword, seamlessly into casting a fireball, seamlessly into using the bow to take out a ranged enemy." Fulton says. "That all had to feel really intuitive, really fluid, and allow the player to not just take on individual enemies, but take on groups of enemies as well, and often groups of mixed enemies that just present different tactical challenges within that particular combat encounter."

As the Xbox Developer Direct confirmed, we can expect to face some familiar foes from the world of Albion, including the likes of Hobbes, Balverines, Hollowfolk, and Trolls. But there'll be some new enemies in the fray, including the giant, fire-breathing Cockatrice. We can also expect to take on multiple enemies at once, as well as some tougher adversaries that play a little close to boss fights, as we're heroes that are a little more powerful than the average human.

Fable 4 character customization

Fable will also feature more character customization than games past, with the Xbox Developer Direct revealing we'll be able to choose from a suite of different head models, skin tones, hairstyles, tattoos, and scars to shape our own hero.

Historically, we've only ever gotten to choose between male and female premade characters, so it's exciting to know we'll have more freedom to bring to life our look, and we'll also be able to choose our own clothing, too (not unlike the original trilogy).

Fable open-world locations

As the first truly open-world take on Albion, we've at long last gotten to see some of the locations we can expect to venture to.

As the Xbox Developer Direct detailed, as well as everything from idyllic rolling hills to spooky marshes, we'll once again be able to venture to the capital city of Bowerstone, which prominently featured in Fable 2. Home to the iconic Fairfax castle, the old clocktower, and the Heroes guild – we're said to meet its reclusive guild master, Humphrey the Golden.

We'll also get to visit the "bleak, windswept city of Bloodstone", which is said to feature two rival gangs vying for power, as well as the sinister and very well-organized Cult of Shadows. How ominous.

Fable 4 development

Fable has been in the works for a long time at Playground Games, with Fulton telling us here at GamesRadar+ that the team had a desire to do something different in terms of genre as far back as the release of Forza Horizon 3 almost 10 years ago.

With two new teams assembled to work on the project on Leamington Spa, UK, the new RPG is said to be a real passion project for Playground, with many joining the team especially to work on a Fable game as "fans first and foremost".

Check out some of the best open-world games or the best open world RPGs to play while you wait for Fable 4.