When is the Fable 4 release date? The next installment in the Fable series was finally revealed at the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase back in 2020. Details about the long-awaited sequel have been thin on the ground following that announcement, but don't despair, young chicken chaser – we've got plenty to share ahead of the Fable 4 release date estimate.
For one thing, we know Playground Games, the studio behind the Forza Horizon series, is currently developing Fable 4. We also know that it won't be called Fable 4 at all. us while we dig through all the latest news and juicy trailer details to discover exactly what we can expect from the whimsical action-adventure game once it finally arrives.
Fable 4 release date estimate
The Fable 4 release date estimate is 2026, after being announced it would be pushed back from its original 2025 release date in an Xbox Game Studios Update.
Head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan, announced the Fable 4 delay with the following announcement: "We previously announced the date for Fable as 2025, we are actually going to give Fable more time and it's going to ship in 2026 now."
Fable 4 is set to launch on PC and Xbox Series X|S, with our would-be heroes able to play via Xbox Game from day one. We also have the latest news about Fable 4 on Steam if you'd rather stick with Valve's platform.
Fable 4 trailers
Fans of Matt King, best known as Super Hans from Peep Show, will instantly recognize his voice as Humphry in the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 trailer. In it, he explains that despite being the greatest hero in all of Albion, his apprentices have a tendency to be a bit more morally compromised.
We see the player hero in action for the first time, too. She fires arrows at foes, stabs one in the neck, and addresses both her fans and her haters. We also learn of other heroes who have come before her and chosen the path of evil.
Before this, Fable 4 also kicked off 2023's Richard Ayoade, as Dave, the innovative giant gardener who takes a dim view of heroes and their search for glory.
While we only got a brief glimpse of moment-to-moment gameplay – including a group of bandits receiving a dose of the hero treatment in close combat – the trailer is confirmed to be in-game footage. We have to it, Albion's looking pretty gorgeous these days, to the extent that some people don't think it's real. The trailer is also replete with Fable humor, from its wry retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk to the indignant squawk of a chicken being punted into the sky.
The initial Fable 4 announcement trailer debuted as part of the Xbox and Bethesda 2020 showcase. It starts with a fairy flying between objects like swords and skulls in a magical forest to the soothing voice of a British narrator. It's very Fable; a large toad devours the fairy and the camera pans above the treetops to a glorious view of Bowerstone.
Fable 4 setting
This leads us to Fable 4's setting. Bowerstone is a key Fable location, and it seems to be a lot bigger in the announcement trailer than in past games. The town sprawls between the hilltops, which suggests much bigger environments and possibly an even larger open world than we've seen before.
Fable 4 story
We see a glint of the Heroes Guild seal crest on the hilt of our hero's sword in the teaser trailer, which means it's looking likely that the Heroes Guild will feature in Fable 4's story. Fable fans aren't strangers to the Guild; its distinctive icon appears around Albion, for example on Hero Hill in Fable 2, and the guild itself appeared in the first Fable.
The Guild seal, which also bears the icon, is also famous for letting you fast travel around the open world, as well as allowing you to talk to the Guild Master in the original Fable and Theresa in Fable 2 and 3.
We're glad to see the steampunk setting dwindle behind Fable's new stunning vistas and hope for a more mythological story that definitely matches up to the trailer's fairy character and the forests' strange fauna and flora in the giant mushrooms and prancing fish. We're also hoping for a return of trolls, nymphs, and hobbes while we're at it.
Fable 4 development
Tom Gaulton, lead engineer at Playground Games, revealed on Twitter that he has been working on Fable for four years. Many games with this much development time typically show more than a teaser trailer, but it appears Playground Games wants to take things slow.
Speaking on The Xbox Two podcast, Jez Corden claims he saw "alpha gameplay footage" of Fable 4. While he couldn't confirm the date of the build in question, he identified "CD Projekt Red DNA" in its seamless hack-and-slash combat, though he maintains its systems are distinct from the likes of The Witcher.
For now, we'll be sure to keep you updated on everything Fable, from any release date news to story details and more. Until then, why not check out some of the best RPG games on PC that you can play right now?