The real reason why Fable has taken so many years

The development of Fable could have been more complicated by a technical decision of Xbox.

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After years of waiting, Fable finally has a release date and, barring any last-minute changes, is set to arrive on February 23, 2027. However, many gamers are still wondering why the highly anticipated RPG from Playground Games has taken so long to develop since its announcement in 2020.

One possible answer could lie in the technology chosen to create the game. According to Jez Corden, of Windows Central, the use of the ForzaTech graphics engine would have posed a significant challenge for the studio.

The Forza engine would have required adapting a large part of the development

According to the information shared by Corden, within Xbox, there was consideration at the time to use Unreal Engine, an option that had established tools and a wealth of experience within the industry.

Ultimately, Playground Games opted to work with ForzaTech, the proprietary engine used in the Forza Horizon series. The problem is that this technology was originally designed for open-world driving games, not for an RPG filled with characters, dialogue, decisions, and combat systems. This adaptation would have resulted in an extension of production times, as the studio had to develop new tools and modify the engine to meet the needs of Fable.

However, this decision could also have long-term advantages for Xbox. The same sources suggest that the company wants to promote the use of proprietary engines to reduce costs and rely less on external technologies. If the work done with ForzaTech is satisfactory, it wouldn’t be surprising if other Xbox studios also took advantage of this evolution of the engine in future projects.

For now, there is no official confirmation from Microsoft or Playground Games about these difficulties, but the information from Windows Central helps to understand why one of the most anticipated Xbox games has taken so many years to be ready.