Fable developers confirm release date amid rumors of delay to 2027 over GTA 6 pressure

Over the weekend, the gaming industry stirred with rumors that Playground Games' highly anticipated reboot of the Fable franchise would be delayed until 2027.

The Fable reboot was showcased at the Xbox Developer Direct in January this year, and during the showcase, the developers announced that the title was planned for release in Autumn 2026. However, rumors from a known gaming industry insider, Jeff Grubb, say that internally Fable has been "pushed" and that its release date is closer to December this year, making it a "prime candidate" for a 2027 release window.

Additionally, Grubb said that Playground Games is concerned about the release of Fable being snuffed out by Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 6, which is why the purported discussion is about a delay into 2027. Notably, Fable was originally scheduled to launch in 2025, but Playground requested more time with the title for further polishing, resulting in the current Autumn 2026 release. Given Fable's history with delays, it wouldn't be totally surprising, and considering the title has been in development for many years, a few months wouldn't be a particularly long wait.

"I'll say that I've heard that Fable has been pushed internally. That doesn't mean that it's coming out next year. Apparently, they're still trying to get it out this year, but they are worried about the launch of GTA 6. And so if it's getting delayed beyond the release of GTA 6, that could push it into December, which might make it a prime candidate to get delayed into 2027. So, while Xbox will have a lot of games coming out this year, that's one that there's still a big question mark around," said Grubb

However, Playground Games has only cleared things up in the last couple of hours, with the official Fable X account sharing, "We're excited to welcome you to Albion in Autumn 2026!"

Speaking of Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar recently confirmed a hack that has led to a ransom threat from a notorious hacking group, which is threatening to release confidential information. For more information on that story, check out the link below.