Fable is regarded as a "new beginning" for the series: All the key details from the Developer_Direct

Well it happened. Playground absolutely stole the show at the Developer_Direct by showing off not just Forza Horizon 6 but also Fable. Speaking about the latter title, now that the broadcast has come to an end, we can pick apart all of the details and bits of information that were presented during the showcase.

For starters, Fable will debut on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 sometime in the autumn. No firm date was given, so that might worry a few out there, but it is set to launch later this year as it stands.

Beyond this, where does this game sit in the wider Fable narrative? We're told in an Xbox Wire article that it's regarded as a "new beginning" for the series, a reboot since the last trilogy of games came out two console generations ago. So, don't expect this to conform to the same timeline or past events, because this game is it's own thing.

This being said, we're told that Fable is being built for veteran fans of the series and newcomers alike. This doesn't mean it will lose the essence of the series though, as it will look to offer a fairytale world with that signature British humour flair. As Playground expresses: "You can't mention Fable without mentioning that it's quintessentially British. It's cliche, but it's kind of true. And I don't think that's just because Albion is obviously medieval England through a lens, and it's not just because the cast have British accents."

The story follows your character as you realise that you're a hero as a child, before a time jump then sees the game explore your life as an adult. The main story sees your grandma and all of the local inhabitants of your village turned to stone by a powerful stranger, leading you to then have to explore the wider world and discover what really happened. Naturally, this path takes you to Bowerstone and the Heroes' Guild in the city, but the key thing is that you don't really have to go anywhere the game tells you, as we're told that Fable has a freely explorable map from the get-go. It's unclear how this will work from a progression standpoint as Playground mentioned they'd talk more about it at a later date.

Combat on the other hand seems to be quite akin to modern action-RPG, with players able to use an array of weapons, ranged tools, and spells to their advantage. You can sculpt your character into the fighter you want them to be still, meaning if you like slinging spells, there's nothing stopping you becoming a master wizard. Emergent combat is present, meaning enemies may also accidentally kill their allies and such too.

Looking at a key factor in the morality system, this will be a tad different to what older fans might know, as there's no good or bad, per se. Rather people just have opinions of your character, be that you are too rich and snobby, cruel and violent, caring and kind. What you do in the world and what people see shapes this morality, meaning when you ultimately boot a chicken, locals might not exactly be thrilled... And there will be loads of NPCs to see your actions as the world is inhabited by over 1,000 characters that live and go about their business in unique ways. Plus, sticking with the NPC theme, you will be able to romance and start a family with NPCs, even buying and upgrading your own home for them to live, with the caveat that house prices might fluctuate depending on what you do in-game. Some of the characters are even voiced by British comedians, and Playground is leaning more into the humour element by sometimes offering a mockumentary-like setup for some of the key faces.

So needless to say, Fable seems to be a very ambitious game. For more on the project, you can see a bunch of images of the anticipated RPG below.