Witcher 3 dev 'designed and implemented' Fable's slick and fast combat'

Xbox reveals smooth and graceful combat for the new Fable game, showing clear inspirations to the fast hack-and-slash action found in the Witcher series. As it turns out, there's a very good reason for that.

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Years ago in 2021, Witcher 3's gameplay designer Paweł Kapała left CD Projekt RED and joined Playground Games to design combat systems for the studio's new Fable project. As per his LinkedIn, Kapala spent over a year at Playground's Leamington Spa-based studio "designing and implementing combat in Fable." Now in today's Developer Direct, we see how Kapala's influence shaped Fable's gameplay.

Fable's new gameplay footage shows off combat that is significantly faster than any of the previous games in the series. If you've played The Witcher 3, you might be reminded of Geralt's fluid swordplay while watching the new Fable in action. There's higher emphasis on smooth animations; gone are the days of arcade-style action from the former games. Fable has been fully modernized, complete with a style and execution reminiscent of today's open-world action adventure RPGs.

Players can perform heavy and light attacks in battle, and also choose a variety of weapons, including fearsome two-handed mauls, swords, and bows. Stagger-based attacks are possible, parrying seems to be a big part of fighting, and finishing moves are in the game. Overall, the footage reminds me of a combination of The Witcher 3 and Assassin's Creed Valhalla's gameplay.

As is customary for most RPGs, Fable has three main combat types: Strength (melee), Skill (ranged), and Will (magic). Playground Games says that this design gives players the opportunity to tap the game's "style-weaving combat."

The developers will show more of Fable in the coming months, including a deeper look at fighting mechanics.

Fable will release sometime in Autumn 2026 on Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5.