One game that fans hoped to see to hear about is Fable. The upcoming game is a reboot of the video game series that was first released in 2004 and developed by the now-defunct Lionhead Studios. The reboot is being developed by Playground Games, makers of the Forza Horizon series. New reports suggest Microsoft’s internal policy is causing development issues for the new Fable game. Windows Central’s Jez Corden reports Microsoft is forcing devs to work on the upcoming Fable reboot to use internal tools and engines, saying: Earlier rumors suggested Playground Games will use the aptly named ForzaTech game engine, which powers the Forza series, to develop Fable. This lines up with the report that Microsoft has a policy to use internal game engines. ForzaTech was developed by Turn 10 Studios for Forza and has been trademarked by Microsoft in 2015. The rumors also suggest the studio is downscaling the upcoming game because developers were having difficulty adapting the game engine to an open-world RPG. I’ve been told internal politics over engine use has also led to developmental problems in games like Fable and Halo Infinite, as Microsoft sought to use its own tools rather than fully-featured industry standards like Unreal Engine, which further exacerbates problems around training contractors, only to lose them mid-project. Even Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty had some skepticism about the decision to have Playground Games develop an RPG Game. He has, however, recently reported that Fable’s development has overcome early issues. “There’s stuff I wish I could share and show, because some of the things I’ve seen are just so encouraging,” Booty said of Fable’s development. “There’s a danger sometimes, that you don’t want to [have] the RPG team go make a racing game or vice-versa. You don’t want the shooter team to make a kid’s building-block game. You can get in trouble there.” “But [Playground has] a great technology base, they’ve got a passion for the IP, and they’ve just got such a demonstrated commitment to craft and quality. […] During some of the first reviews, I shared a little skepticism that, look, I feel like we’re kind of going out on a limb here, but they’ve since put that to rest. I’m excited for everybody to see it,” Booty added. The team from Eidos Montreal is reportedly supporting Playground Games with its work on Fable. We’re hoping this will help boost the development of the upcoming reboot. Hopefully, Fable will be present at next year’s heavily teased Microsoft showcase.
