New Fable has the 'most beautiful and realized version of Albion you've ever seen'

Fable has been delayed to 2026, but Microsoft softens the blow by revealing new pre-alpha gameplay footage for the anticipated RPG.

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The next Fable game will have an extra year for development, Xbox has announced, and developer Playground Games is reportedly making big strides with the game's progress. Aided with Eidos Montreal, Playground's new vision for Fable is touted as the "most beautiful" in the history of the series.

Alongside the game's delay announcement, Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan also teased new details about Fable, complete with pre-alpha gameplay footage. The sequences even included some bits of combat and apparently showcased Fable's seamless transitions between dialog and combat.

In a recent Xbox Podcast interview, Duncan said:

"I have unequivocal confidence in the Playground team [...] to think about what Playground is bringing to Fable as a franchise, just think of their visuals and what you'd expect from Playground Games plus amazing gameplay, British humor, Playground's version of Albion. So, inspired by what's gone before with the franchise, but their take, and quite frankly, the most beautiful and realized version of Albion that you've ever seen.

"I'm really excited about the plans and the future. I want the community to understand that we do these things for the betterment of the games and the teams, and ultimately that results in the best game for the community."

Duncan has previewed Fable--rightly so, as it's a big part of his job--and says the game "feels amazing" in its pre-alpha state:

"I played some aspects of it that are city-based...I've played some of the quests, I played some of the combat, a boss battle, I used magic. It felt amazing, and I had a great time. And again, I remember the originals."

When asked about the seamless transitions, Duncan replied:

"Yeah, everything you're seeing here is very playable."