Forza Horizon Studio Playground Games Reveals Decade-Long Effort to Revive Fable

Playground Games, the studio behind the Forza Horizon racing series, has spoken publicly about its long effort to revive Fable, the British fantasy role-playing game franchise, according to a report by The Guardian.

The studio was founded in 2010 in Leamington Spa with the goal of creating competitive racing games to rival Gran Turismo, producing the acclaimed Forza Horizon series. According to The Guardian, as the team grew, its ambitions expanded to include reviving Fable, a franchise it describes as one of the most distinctive British contributions to fantasy gaming.

Fable was originally created by Lionhead Studios and released for the original Xbox in 2004. The game was known for combining fantasy role-playing with irreverent British humor and player choices that altered the game world, according to The Guardian. Later entries in the series featured voice performances from well-known British actors including Stephen Fry and Simon Pegg.

The franchise's momentum stalled after Microsoft closed Lionhead Studios in 2016, reportedly after directing the studio to convert Fable into a multiplayer title. That project, known as Fable Legends, was never released, The Guardian reported.

Playground Games has now taken on the task of reviving the series, a process the report describes as spanning roughly a decade. The new installment reportedly features voice acting from comedians Richard Ayoade and Natasia Demetriou, continuing the franchise's tradition of comedic character writing, according to The Guardian.

Developers told The Guardian that the team sought to move away from familiar fantasy conventions in shaping the new game, though specific design details were not fully outlined in the available excerpt. The Guardian reported having an early hands-on session with the game as part of its coverage.

Further details on the game's release plans were not specified in the available material.