Report: There's a new single-player Fable game in the works

Coming almost two years after the closure of Lionhead Studios, it has emerged in a new report that Microsoft is looking to bring back the Fable series via a major new open-world single-player adventure.

The news comes via Eurogamer, who reports that they have spoken to sources at Playground Games (Forza Horizon) who claim a major new game set in the fan-favourite fantasy world, Albion, is in the works, albeit in the very early stages of development. Apparently, at this stage, the studio is merely staffing up the development team, but with a suggested team-size of around 200, there are plenty of positions to fill.

Fable 4 was originally planned to go into development after the completion of the online title, Fable Legends, a game that was shut down along with Lionhead back in 2016. Speaking to the site, Fable co-creator Simon Carter revealed that he has "slightly mixed feelings" about the unconfirmed project (Microsoft refused to comment on the speculation).

"On the one hand it's great for the UK games industry, and very pleasing that Fable isn't dead; indeed, it will be lovely to play one as a punter, without coming out in hives. On the other hand it is a little curious to get rid of the team that is uniquely expert in making Fable, and then try and make Fable. Fable is a weird game, and a tough one to deconstruct for a new team. That said, the team in question is very talented, and I'm sure they'll do a fantastic job."

The report suggests that Microsoft has identified Playground Games as the ideal studio to head up the project after their excellent work on the open-world Forza Horizon series. According to the site, the platform holder was inspired to revisit the franchise by the success of Horizon: Zero Dawn on PS4, and thinks that a return to Albion will prove popular with fans.