Fable’s Morality System, Combat and Whether it is Fantasy or a Fairy Tale Detailed by Game Director

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During the recent Xbox Developer_Direct 2026 showcase, Playground Games shared a lot of new information about their upcoming open-world RPG, Fable. Ralph Fulton, the game’s general manager and director, has since revealed even more details. In an interview with Xbox Wire, Fulton confirmed that this Fable is a complete reboot, as the developers didn’t want to be restricted by the story or timeline of the previous games.

When talking about what makes Fable special, Fulton pointed out it wasn’t meant to be just another typical open-world fantasy role-playing game. He explained that the game’s world feels more like a classic fairy tale than a standard fantasy setting.

We built upon a lot of existing ideas, many of which came from our work with Lionhead. When the project began, we received a large collection of documents from their archives. One document, in particular, really stood out to me. It simply stated that Fable is rooted in fairytale traditions, not high fantasy – a wonderfully concise way to put it.

As a big fan, I’m really excited about how Playground Games is approaching the new Fable. They’re aiming for something different than those super gritty, realistic fantasy worlds like Game of Thrones or Skyrim. They’re going in almost the opposite direction, which I think is a brilliant move!

Fairytales are usually personal stories about everyday people, not epic adventures. They’re charming and focus on how magic affects regular lives, and often contain a lesson or moral.

Regarding the game’s open world, Fulton has confirmed that players won’t be restricted from exploring any area based on their level or progress. While the developers expect most players will naturally follow the intended path, they also want to give everyone the freedom to go wherever they please.

Our main goal is to create a truly enjoyable and engaging experience for players, no matter where they are in the game world. As Fulton explained, this idea guided our entire development process. We focused on building a system where players can freely explore and progress without being blocked by level requirements. We want them to be able to go wherever they want and have fun doing it.

The combat in Fable is designed to feel fluid and dynamic. Playground Games really wanted unexpected things to happen, even during normal battles. A great example of this is a moment shown in a recent video where an enemy, a Hobbe, unintentionally killed a teammate – it wasn’t planned at all, it just happened while the developers were recording gameplay.

According to Fulton, the accidental death of a player’s character by ‘Hobbe’ during gameplay was a genuine mistake that occurred while recording footage from the game’s development build. They decided to include it in the final version because it was humorous and fit the personality of that popular enemy character.

Adding friendly fire and similar chaotic elements always makes combat more humorous and unpredictable. We’ve been asking ourselves how to best incorporate humor into Fable‘s combat system, given that fighting is usually a serious activity.

The new Fable game is changing how it approaches morality compared to previous installments. Instead of presenting players with clear good and evil options, the game will focus on how different characters perceive actions, reflecting varying opinions and perspectives.

We don’t see morality as something that changes based on the situation. Instead, our system focuses on your actions within the game, specifically those witnessed by at least one other player. When others see you do something, you’ll begin to build a reputation for it. A common example we use is kicking chickens – it’s a classic Fable activity.”

This system offers more possibilities for how you express yourself, because you’re managing both what you do and who witnesses it. You get to decide how comfortable you are with others perceiving you in a certain way.

Fable is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in Fall 2026.

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2026-01-22 22:44