Fable Interview

A new entry in the Fable series was finally announced during Microsoft’s recent Xbox Games Showcase event. Following the event, the head of Xbox Studios Matt Booty had a chat with The Guardian, during which he discussed the hardware of Xbox Series X, the event itself, and some of the games presented there.

The newly announced Fable got a few paragraphs that explain why Playground Games was entrusted with this long-running franchise. Here’s an excerpt:

According to Booty, it was the studio’s experience with large open-world environments that singled it out for the project. “I just look at what Playground has done with the Horizon series – that attention to detail, the ability to represent these naturalistic landscapes. They also have a real passion for the IP and a unique point of view on what’s core to Fable. Everything I’ve seen as the game progresses tells me this is going to be a very high-quality release.”

Rumours surfaced at the weekend that the new title will be a massively multiplayer online game rather than a true narrative sequel to Fable 3. Those rumours have since been refuted by other news sources. While not directly addressing the speculation, Booty claimed the new title will respect the legacy of the series, as well as bringing in the studio’s own ideas.

“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,” he says. “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.”