At This Point, Classic Fable Remasters May Do More Harm Than Good

6 July 2025

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at-this-point,-classic-fable-remasters-may-do-more-harm-than-good — At This Point, Classic Fable Remasters May Do More Harm Than Good

Xbox recently suffered several staff cuts, studio closures, and game cancellations, but even with Perfect Dark and Everwild out of the picture, the long-awaited Fable reboot is still on its way. Developed by Playground Games, Fable is the first new game in its series since 2012’s Fable: The Journey, and will be the first entry to launch since Fable’s original developer Lionhead Studios closed in 2016. Its announcement in 2020 left fans waiting for a long time, but even though it was absent at the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase, Fable still seems capable of reaching its 2026 launch window.

Getting a new installment after all this time will hopefully be worth the wait, as Fable is a veteran Xbox franchise that sorely needs a modern presence. The Fable Anniversary remaster of the original game on Steam and Xbox’s backward compatibility program is a start, but it’s been around since 2014. At a time when Xbox needs first-party IPs to rally around more than ever, Fable pulling any weight is worth something, so even some remasters of the classic Fable trilogy would be worth something — that is, if they don’t make reception to the new Fable even more dicey.

Xbox players can guess when Playground Games’ Fable will release in 2026 based on prior Fable releases and other upcoming Xbox games.

Fable’s Reboot Isn’t Landing Like It Should

It’s Not Clear Yet If The New Fable Can Stand On Its Own Merits

The public is of two minds about the new Fable, and this split of opinions appeared early in the game’s marketing cycle. Some don’t see any particular problems to point out about it yet, besides the game taking so long and releasing so little information about itself. Others, particularly old-school Fable players, aren’t so bought in. Between this Fable’s more realistic art style and its trailers’ reliance on an interview style to represent the series’ humor, something feels off about this new Fable’s tone. Being attached to modern Microsoft doesn’t help right the vibes, and Playground Games’ purely-Forza Horizon background makes the Fable reboot’s quality all the more suspect.

Once it’s ready to be shown again, Fable will need to prove itself to win back trust and ensure its launch will pick up a solid player base. Considering that this means proving its art style, gameplay, writing, and maybe even marketing are up to snuff, it’s facing an uphill battle, and could probably use some help. Some have dismissed the modern era of gaming as being dominated by remakes and remasters, but the old numbered Fable trilogy is in need of modern releases, so a few more would be appropriate here. That is, assuming they don’t provide an even harsher contrast to the new game.

Fable Remasters Could Make Or Break The New Fable

Fable has found itself in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation with its hypothetical remasters. Bringing back the glory days of the Fable franchise could be what’s best for it right now, but runs the risk of turning even more players away from the reboot. The negativity surrounding Playground’s Fable stems from comparisons to Lionhead’s Fable, and having the latter around is just begging for more complaints from existing skeptics and new ones who got into the series via the remasters.

Launching Fable Remasters May Be Necessary, Despite The Consequences

Even so, Xbox can hardly afford to be more stingy with its release schedule now that several major games have fallen away. Releasing Fable remasters before the new Fable could empower complaints, but releasing them after might sabotage their own performance. It may still be best to attract new players with the old games up front, especially since all of these releases are liable to be on Xbox Game Pass anyway, so there might not even be a tangible sales hit if players prefer the older titles. It’s almost appropriately absurd for Fable to find itself in this debacle, and hopefully it can dispel its hazy future soon.