Report: Fable Delayed to Late 2026 to Avoid GTA VI

Fable, the highly anticipated reboot of the legendary RPG series, has been delayed again, according to journalist Jeff Grubb. Grubb claims that Playground Games and Microsoft teams acknowledge the original fall 2026 timeline is no longer realistic, and the game has undergone an internal delay. Importantly, Grubb himself emphasized this doesn't mean the game has been pushed to 2027.

Grubb revealed on his podcast that he'd heard from industry sources that Fable has been internally delayed. The main reason? A giant shadow named Grand Theft Auto 6. With GTA 6's launch date set for November 19, 2026, Microsoft doesn't want to release one of its biggest games directly against GTA 6. This isn't Fable's first delay—in February 2025, Craig Duncan, head of Xbox Game Studios, officially announced the game was moving from 2025 to 2026. Now, with another internal delay in the mix, it's understandable why fans are a bit worried.

For those unfamiliar, Fable is one of Xbox's flagship franchises. The original series was created by Lionhead Studios under Peter Molyneux's leadership, with the first game launching in 2004 for the original Xbox. The series, set in the fantasy kingdom of Albion, spanned three main games—Fable, Fable II, and Fable III—and earned massive fan devotion thanks to its blend of action-RPG gameplay, British humor, and moral choice system that affected the world. After Lionhead Studios closed in 2016, the franchise went dormant. It wasn't until 2020 that Microsoft surprised everyone by announcing that Playground Games, the studio known for the Forza Horizon series, would take on the Fable reboot.

What was revealed at the Xbox Developer Direct in January 2026 was impressive. Playground Games showed off an exciting gameplay trailer, unveiling a new open world in Albion with over 1,000 fully voiced NPC characters, each with their own name, role, daily routine, and personality. The reputation system allows players to experience different reactions from characters in each town based on their behavior. Combat seamlessly blends melee, ranged weapons, and magic, and the game promises a return to the roots of choices and consequences that made the series iconic.

The game is expected to be available on Game Pass from day one, and for the first time in the series' history, it will also launch on PlayStation 5. Despite all the rumors, it's important to remember—Microsoft still hasn't changed the official launch window. Fable is still planned for 2026. Even Grubb himself noted that the team is still aiming to release the game this year, and the solution might simply be a December launch instead of fall. After more than 15 years of waiting for a new Fable, a few more months won't ruin anyone's celebration. What matters is that the game releases when it's ready—we've already learned to wait for good games that take their time (I'm looking at you, Crimson Desert).