Despite rumors of a GTA 6-inspired delay, Fable studio says it's 'excited to welcome you back to Albion in autumn 2026'

A Fable character looking dandy — (Image credit: Playground Games)

The long-awaited Fable reboot is currently slated to drop in the fall of 2026, more than 15 years after the release of Fable 3. It's a pretty big deal for Microsoft and developer Playground Games. Also coming in the fall of 2026 is Grand Theft Auto 6, the biggest deal of them all, which is set to launch—for consoles—on November 19. Is a dodge-the-bullet delay happening as a result?

It's happened before, probably most famously leading up to the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, and talk of a possible similar pause for Fable was kicked into gear by Jeff Grubb of Giant Bomb, who said during a recent stream (via RPS) that he'd heard the game "has been pushed internally."

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"That doesn’t mean that it’s coming out next year," Grubb said. "Apparently, they’re still trying to get it out this year, but they are worried about the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6. So if it’s getting delayed beyond the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, that could push it into December, which might make it a prime candidate to get delayed into 2027."

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Grubb is well-known as an 'insider guy,' with a pretty solid track record on knowing things that aren't widely known. And he may ultimately be proven correct on this one. For now, though, Playground and Microsoft are sticking to their guns: While they haven't issued a statement directly contradicting it, they have subsequently repeated the "autumn 2026" launch window on social media.

Excited to welcome you back to Albion in Autumn 2026 💕April 13, 2026

Nothing means nothing until the game is installed and loading screen displayed, but it's also worth noting that delaying your game to avoid a bigger game can be a fool's errand: You delay until Q1 2027, then Rockstar delays GTA 6 until February 2027, and you're left with nothing but regret and the same problem you thought you'd solved three months ago.

Add in everyone else working the same prisoner's dilemma, and it really does start to look like you should just go when you're ready and hope for the best.

I've reached out to Playground to see if it has anything more to say on the matter, and we'll update if it does.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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