After Game Awards no-show, there's fresh hope for Fable as Microsoft teases its developer for January showcase

We got lots of big reveals during The Game Awards, but there were certainly some notable absences. I can't honestly say I really expected to see Persona 6, but I was quietly hoping Fable would show its face. The long-awaited return of the classic fantasy game series has gone rather quiet, sailing under the radar ever since confirmation earlier this year that it would no longer be arriving before 2026. With that right around the corner, it felt like a good opportunity to check in, but one that was sadly missed. However, head of Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty has some potentially good news.

Given how quiet it's been, it seems unlikely we'll see the Fable release date until later in 2026, but it's possible that we'll finally get some fresh word on what developer Playground Games has been cooking up come January. Speaking to Variety, Booty reveals that Xbox Game Studios has a packed 2026 in store. "This year, we've got more stuff coming up than we can fit in one show," he says of the next planned showcase. Among them is the developer of both the Fable reboot and Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games.

"I will tell you that Playground Games is going to be in the Dev Direct," Booty continues, "but we'll have more stuff next year to ship than we can fit into one Dev Direct show in January, which is a good place to be." Of course, there's no guarantee whether that means we'll be seeing a fresh taste of Fable or the also-incoming Forza Horizon 6, which is set in Japan. Personally, I'm rather hoping both of them make an appearance.

Booty highlights 2026 as a big milestone year for the company, pointing to the 25th anniversary of Xbox, 40th anniversary of Bethesda, and 35th anniversary of Blizzard. "We've announced things like the Halo: Campaign Evolved collection that we've got coming, and we've got a lot of other things that we'll talk about soon that ship next year," he says. "It's going to be a real banner year for the brand and a banner year for some of the biggest franchises to show up across the industry."

We're already expecting Gears of War: E-Day to land in 2026 as well, but I'm really hopeful that the next twelve months end up bringing us Fable's grand return. The Steam page for it is currently upsettingly empty, with just a vague three-sentence description and nothing more. If there's still no news come January's Dev Direct, I'm going to start worrying that we won't even see it arrive next year.