‘We were bored of traditional fantasy cliches’: inside Playground Games’ 10-year effort to revive Fable
Playground Games, the studio behind Forza Horizon, is reviving the Fable franchise after a ten-year hiatus following the closure of its original developer, Lionhead Studios. The team aimed to move away from traditional fantasy clichés by creating a distinctively British role-playing game with deep narrative choices and comedic elements. The project involved building a large new team and securing voice talent from prominent British actors to bring the series back to life.
- ▪Playground Games signed a deal with Microsoft in 2017 to develop a reboot of the Fable series.
- ▪The original Fable franchise was discontinued when Microsoft shut down Lionhead Studios in 2016.
- ▪Co-founder Ralph Fulton stated that the team wanted to prove their capabilities in a narrative-driven genre beyond racing games.
- ▪British actors Richard Ayoade and Natasia Demetriou are voicing characters in the new game.
- ▪The development process required Playground to rapidly expand its staff by hiring hundreds of new employees.
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — Tech |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/sep/15/we-were-bored-of-traditional-fantasy-cliches-inside-playground-games-10-year-effort-to-revive-fable |
| Publication time | Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:30:31 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-15T09:51:53.065Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-15T09:51:53.065Z |
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| Cluster | NzeOH467t4Ec · 1 stories |
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‘It culminates in a choice that really challenges you to think about who you are’ … a screenshot from the forthcoming Fable reboot. Photograph: Xbox Game StudiosView image in fullscreen‘It culminates in a choice that really challenges you to think about who you are’ … a screenshot from the forthcoming Fable reboot. Photograph: Xbox Game StudiosRole playing games‘We were bored of traditional fantasy cliches’: inside Playground Games’ 10-year effort to revive FableThe distinctively British RPG is returning courtesy of the makers of Forza Horizon – with comedy talent such as Richard Ayoade and Natasia Demetriou voicing sweary characters.
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