Fable delayed until 2027 as Xbox loses game of chicken with GTA 6

Microsoft has announced that the Fable reboot will no longer be out this year, as their plans for the Xbox 25th anniversary takes a major hit.

You may well have heard of a game called Grand Theft Auto 6, which is out this year on November 19. It’s such a monumentally massive release that other publishers have been terrified of it for years, constantly moving their games around the release schedules, as GTA 6 is delayed again and again.

Everything points towards it keeping its current release date, but that creates an additional problem in that the Christmas gift giving period Is usually the busiest time for new releases. No one is crazy enough to launch close to GTA 6, though, with Sony picking September 15 for Marvel’s Wolverine and Activision pushing as close as it dare with Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s launch on October 23.

Fable has never had an exact release date, just sometime in autumn 2026, but now that’s not happening, which suggests that it wasn’t going to be ready in time to get enough distance from GTA 6.

There’s nothing to suggest that Fable isn’t finished, or has been delayed for any reason other than to avoid Rockstar Games’ juggernaut, but Microsoft’s annoucement of the delay is typically disingenuous.

‘This is year is packed with incredible games for Xbox players to enjoy, from Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears Of War: E-Day, and Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 4 to Control Resonant, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and Grand Theft Auto 6.

‘In order to plan our game launches through the holidays, in a way that works best for players, we’re moving Fable to February 2027 so it can have the dedicated moment it deserves. We’re excited to be giving players a major new look at Fable, as well as our broader line-up, at Xbox Games Showcase on June 7.’

So according to them, you just have it too good this year, so they’re sparing you from a gaming overdose by kindly moving Fable to next year.

Ignoring the fact that Control Resonant, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and GTA 6 itself are third party games, and nothing to do with Microsoft, neither Halo nor Gears Of War currently have release dates.

Those will likely be announced at the Xbox Games Showcase next Sunday but it’s previously been implied that Halo: Campaign Evolved will be out first, perhaps in late summer, and the Gears of War: E-Day will be sometime in the autumn. With Fable out of the picture, it becomes Xbox’s biggest Christmas release by default, so Microsoft may aim for a launch in September or October.

Neither game has been shown in detail so far, but Campaign Evolved is a remake of the story campaign from the original game, with no multiplayer. E-Day is a prequel to the first Gears Of War, although still by the same team behind the disappointing Gears 5.

Very little has ever been shown of Fable either, although if it’s not out until next year now, it may not get much of the spotlight in next week’s summer showcase. Although there are legitimate concerns about the game, including the fact that the originals weren’t nearly as good as Microsoft likes to think, developer Playground Games has just come off the back of the excellent Forza Horizon 6, so it’s a bit of a shame they won’t now get to perform a one-two punch with both games this year.

It’s also a blow for Xbox’s 25th anniversary plans which were already hampered by being on November 15, just days before GTA 6’s launch. With no Fable, it may be that Microsoft will decide to delay Halo until closer to November, since the original game was a launch title for the first Xbox console.

It’s worth noting though that Halo, Gears Of War, and Fable are not Xbox exclusives and all are expected to also be available on PlayStation 5 from day one.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Comments


Add as preferred source