- Fable has been in the works for nearly a decade, but the team has remained safe from layoffs.
- The RPG’s director says that Fable’s importance as an IP has safeguarded the team from Xbox’s cuts in recent years.
- Playground Games’ success with the Forza Horizon franchise has also likely helped the team in this regard.
Xbox’s recent record with employee retention hasn’t been the best, especially since the gaming giant has pursued layoffs across most of its biggest studios, including the likes of id Software and Bethesda Game Studios.
However, the Playground Games team working on Fable has remained unaffected so far. According to the RPG’s director, this is because the IP is incredibly valuable to the Xbox brand.
Why it matters: Fable could end up being Xbox’s biggest game next year, with the team spending a lot of time marketing it as a premier first-party title.
Fable has effectively been in development since 2017, and the game had made very little progress until recently.
Xbox has developed a reputation for pursuing layoffs when such situations arise, but as Fable director Ralph Fulton points out, the series’ value to Xbox has protected it from being axed or job cuts.
In fact, the director argues that Fable is an important franchise to all of gaming. Whether the masses agree or not, Xbox’s treatment certainly suggests that the gaming giant and Ralph Fulton see eye to eye.
I think Fable is an important game. What has protected us over a long development cycle is that so many people at Xbox view Fable as vital to the DNA of the platform.
Of course, it has likely helped that the Forza Horizon titles from Playground Games have been very successful in the last few years.
Forza Horizon 6, launched earlier this year, remains one of the highest-rated releases of 2026. Similarly, its predecessor was praised unanimously, earning Playground Games a level of respect among Xbox’s first-party umbrella that few other teams command at the moment.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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