The highly anticipated Fable reboot, currently under development by Forza Horizon creator Playground Games, remains remarkably faithful to the spirit of Lionhead Studios’ original masterpieces. Despite arriving more than a decade after the last core entry, the game revives the beloved ability to become a real estate tycoon, allowing players to purchase every single structure within the vast world of Albion. The studio’s general manager revealed that this feature was considered a non-negotiable “requirement” carried over from the iconic original trilogy.
The freedom to acquire property introduces a wealth of role-playing opportunities, whether players wish to be a benevolent landlord or embrace the classic “Rich Tw*t” title. Consequently, this mechanic necessitates that every building in the game be fully accessible. In a recent interview, Playground Games’ Ralph Fulton explained that the development team committed to a design philosophy where “you can go into any building or house that you encounter.”
“That level of detail must be consistent across both the exterior and interior,” Fulton noted. “Players have the agency to buy a house and live in it. This was a core expectation we inherited from the previous games—it’s something fans truly value. This requirement has fundamentally shaped our approach to environmental design and the overall world-building process.”
Playground Games is honoring Lionhead’s legacy in several other quirky ways. Players can still indulge in the time-honored tradition of chicken-kicking, and the social system remains as robust as ever. You can romance, marry, start a family, or divorce almost any of the 1,000 NPCs populating the world. This level of authenticity was made possible by a “treasure trove” of original design documents and archives from the classic Xbox era.
In a bittersweet update, a lead at Playground confirmed that the Fable reboot will not feature a dog companion, jokingly remarking: “I was hoping that nobody would ask that question.”
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Source: gamesradar.com
