Earlier this week, rumors surrounding the state of the Fable project started circulating after the latest Xbox News Cast aired on the colteastwood YouTube channel. In the episode, Game On Daily site founder Gaz said:
I have a source that tells me Fable had to be scaled down because the team had trouble with the engine. They couldn't retrofit the gameplay mechanics into the engine. I think it's still going forward with the Forza Tech engine. One of the many issues is that they didn't have the expertise in the open world gameplay for different mechanics.
Nothing to worry about, but it may be further away than you think.
This morning, Fable Senior Producer Amie Loake wrote a couple of tweets seemingly in direct response to the aforementioned rumors. She posited that adjusting the scope of a game is a normal and healthy part of game development.
I wanted to clear something up about scoping; it is a normal, necessary, and healthy part of game development. I can guarantee that every single AAA game you've ever played will have gone through scoping regularly during development.
Its intention is to make sure the team are focused under one clear vision and can get it made in the time they have without killing themselves. Games that haven't been scoped correctly often have delays and crunch, both we should be aiming to avoid whenever possible.
While all of this makes sense, the reply will likely be interpreted by many as implying that there is indeed some truth to the rumors of Playground reducing the scope of Fable.
The Leamington-based developer does still have many open job postings, so they might also be looking into hiring some specific expertise that the project has been lacking. After all, we recently heard a similar story from a former Playground developer who bemoaned the slow progress on Fable.
This new installment in the fantasy RPG franchise was originally announced in July 2020, though we first heard that Playground had been tasked with developing a new Fable all the way back in early 2018.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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