Xbox Delays Fable to 2027 to Avoid Grand Theft Auto VI

2026 was poised to be a big year for Playground Games.

Hot off the success of Forza Horizon 6, one of the best reviewed games of 2026, their anticipated Fable reboot was poised to release in the second half of the year. However, that's no longer the case.

Citing what's a crowded 2026 lineup, headlined by Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4, Xbox announced that Fable will be delayed until February 2027.

What's interesting is that Xbox also pointed to the slew of anticipated third-party games set to release later this year. Grand Theft Auto VI is, of course, the big elephant in the room, but also pointed to Control Resonant and Star Wars: Galactic Racer on social media.

Matt Booty: Fable Deserves "Its Own Moment To Shine"

To give more context on the reasoning behind the delay, Matt Booty, Xbox's Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President, recently appeared on the Official Xbox Podcast to help hype up what's been going on recently in the world of Xbox, as well as what's to come.

Don't forget that yesterday was the first reveal of Modern Warfare 4, the next Call of Duty game from Infinity Ward. We're also fresh off of the success of Forza Horizon 6 (for what it's worth, Booty claims he is not the infamous Bow Knife99). With all that in mind, host Tina Amini asked Booty about the rest of the year, which she admits is a big year for the industry with Grand Theft Auto VI being the biggest entertainment event of the year.

Booty responds that the rest of 2026 features "a really strong lineup for Xbox." Minecraft Dungeons II, Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War E-Day, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 are all cited as the headliners for the rest of the year. Fable, of course, was supposed to one of those games, but that indeed is a crowded lineup, and as such, Booty wants to make sure it's not lost in the shuffle.

The game is in great shape, the team feels really good, we're excited about where the game is. We want to make sure that game has a window all to its own, so we're going to move it from this Fall to February. And again, we really just want it to have its own moment to shine.

Fable Is The Latest Game To Avoid GTA VI's Shadow

While the delay is disappointing, we will indeed see Fable at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase, which is set to take place next week on Sunday, June 7th, at 1 PM Eastern / 10 AM Pacific.

Booty stressesd that the game is indeed shaping up well, and there have been reports earlier this year that Microsoft wants to make sure the game launches without not just internal competition, but external as well. It was even reported ealier this year by Giant Bomb's Jeff Grub that Fable had internally been pushed to 2027. For what it's worth, Jeff responded to the news today by saying "feel like someone said this could happen."

This wouldn't be the first time we've seen a game get delayed to avoid something that's been highly anticipated. Last year, several indie games moved their release window to avoid the surprise Silksong release. We've heard countless stories of publishers doing everything they can to avoid Grand Theft Auto VI.

I'd say this is less of an indictment on the current state of Fable and more of the importance of letting the game succeed. While you may something like "well, why not also push back something like Halo or Gears of War?" I'd argue that those are more well-known entities. Halo: Campaign Evolved is the modern remake of Halo: Combat Evolved. E-Day is the prequel to Gears of War. Both studios also have experience working with the respective franchises. For Playground Games, this is their first time working on a game like Fable, and it's an important franchise for Microsoft. With that being said, why not give it some extra polish and start 2027 on the right foot?