Representatives from Microsoft confessed in a recent documentary that the corporation made a few blunders with Fable developer Lionhead Studios. The now-defunct British studio was most known for its work on the popular Fable series, which is currently being relaunched by Playground Games, the creators of Forza.
When Microsoft bought Lionhead Studios in 2006, it was fresh off the success of the original Fable game. The second Fable was released two years later, and it received a lot of positive feedback from both fans of the first and newbies to the series. Fable III, released in 2010, garnered mixed reviews due to its more linear layout and the fact that its RPG systems were even more streamlined than the previous game. Despite this, many gamers liked the third installment of the original trilogy. The franchise’s problems began around the age of Microsoft’s motion-tracking AR system, the Kinect; Fable: The Journey depended heavily on the Kinect capability, and many fans thought it departed from the franchise’s DNA. Fable Legends was announced a few years later but was later scrapped when Lionhead Studios was shut down by Microsoft in 2016. Now, a new Fable is in development, though Xbox has been tight-lipped about the details.
According to statements made by Xbox representatives in the six-part docu-series Power On The Story of Xbox, Microsoft appears to have pondered on this property and studio after it was shut down. According to GameSpot, general manager Shannon Loftis stated that the franchise was still doing well following the release of Fable II but that certain mistakes were made with the Kinect integration, stating that “the Fable-Kinect marriage never really took off.” Fable: The Journey, according to Loftis, “deviated rather considerably from the pillars of what made Fable 1 and 2 so famous.” “You acquire a studio for what they’re great at now, and your job is to help them accelerate how they do what they do, not them accelerate what you do,” Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said, echoing Loftis’ sentiments and suggesting that Xbox may have overpowered the studio’s creative vision: “You acquire a studio for what they’re great at now, and your job is to help them accelerate how they do what they do, not them accelerate what you do.”
This is consistent with Spencer’s previous reflective remarks about Bungie’s departure from Microsoft. It’s evident that the firm wants to be considerably more competitive with exclusive games this generation, so it’s understandable that its executives are reconsidering previous judgments. With no indication that Microsoft will resume the Kinect anytime soon, core gaming appears to be a major focus for the firm presently.
These remarks from Spencer and Loftis are expected to stoke the debate over how the venerable gaming business will approach the impending Fable revival. While it’s disappointing that Lionhead Studios won’t be working on any new Fable games, Xbox appears to have paused to consider what made the series so popular in the first place. Hopefully, Microsoft and Playground Games will be able to bring the franchise back to Lionhead Studios’ original concept.
