No matter how badly fans want to hear about the newFablegame, Playground Games refuses to budge. The game was announced about a year-and-a-half ago, yet Playground hasn’t revealed anything new. The reason for that isn’t entirely clear. On one hand, Playground is constantly hiring new developers forFable,suggesting that it’s still in early stages. On the other hand, there’s some indication thatFablehas already been in development for at least four years. If Playground doesn’t have anything to say yet, fans can only assume thatFabledoesn’t have much gameplay to show off in spite of its possible development time.
Still, one would expect that Playground and Microsoft would at least attempt to tootFable’s horn more in order to drum up publicity. As the reincarnation of a classic fantasy RPG series,Playground’sFableis a big deal. Another game may be responsible for Microsoft’s more modest approach to discussingFable:Scalebound.Not so long ago,Scaleboundtaught Microsoft the dangers of promising huge things when a game was still in early development. Microsoft and Playground may be trying to protectFablefrom a similar fate.
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The Rise and Fall of Scalebound
For those who don’t remember,Scaleboundwas an action-RPG in development byBayonettacreator PlatinumGames. InScalebound,players took control of Drew and his dragon companion Thuban while exploring the world of Draconis. Not only could players wield a variety of dragon-themed magical powers through Drew, but they could command Thuban in battle and occasionally take control over him. On top of that,Scaleboundwould feature multiplayer co-op, letting players team up with others and their respective dragons to battle colossal bosses. Naturally,Scalebound’s unique concept and impressive gameplay reveals generated a ton of hype.
Unfortunately, that hypecontributed toScalebound’s downfall. The game was canceled in early 2017, and while not much information was revealed at first, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer later shed light on the matter. It seemsScaleboundgetting revealed early in development and constantly appearing at Microsoft showcases generated a ton of pressure to create a massive, outstanding game, raising the bar for PlatinumGames internally. Eventually, Platinum and Microsoft agreed that it simply didn’t seem feasible to deliver aScaleboundexperience living up to expectations, and so the game was canceled. Spencer stated his regret for showing offScaleboundso early, considering the duress that it put Platinum and Microsoft under.
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Fable Seems to Have Learned From Scalebound
Fable’s silence makes more sense withthe context ofScalebound’s troubled journey. Hyping upFableas constantly as possible certainly generates publicity, but it also creates a lot of pressure for Playground Games. No matter what stateFableis currently in, keeping it under wraps until it’s nearly finished is probably safer.Fablefans have been waiting for a new game for years, thanks in-part toFable Legends' cancellation in 2016, so getting Playground’sFablecanceled through excessive press would be a major disappointment.
Learning fromScaleboundis especially important because Playground Games is out of its comfort zone. While PlatinumGames was known for action-centric games likeBayonettawhen it startedScalebound,Playground Games is almost entirely known for theForza Horizonseries. Playground’s new journey into the RPG genre could suffer from excessive time in the public eye andlofty promises aboutFable’s contents. A modest approach toFablepublicity is just what Playground needs right now. Even though it’s a shame thatScaleboundlies dormant for now, it’s good to see that Microsoft has learned from the experience.
Fableis in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
