Microsoft and Xbox have a handful of different first-party titles coming out of their Xbox Game Studios publishing label in 2026, ranging from Halo Studios' Halo: Campaign Evolved remake to The Coalition's Gears of War: E-Day that's set to get its own Direct presentation during the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase.

One developer that's slated to have a particularly big year, though, is Playground Games — the team behind the newly released and critically acclaimed arcade racer Forza Horizon 6, and also the studio working on the humorous and deeply reactive Fable reboot that's scheduled to come to Xbox Series X|S, PC, Xbox Game Pass, and PS5 later this fall.

Forza Horizon 6 has been a colossal success for Xbox and Playground Games thus far, with the title getting rave reviews from critics and fans alike, achieving its biggest ever Early Access launch, and hitting massive milestones just days after release. Its developers have also committed to supporting it over time with seasonal Festival Playlist updates, the first of which is now live.

With the spotlight shining brightly on Forza and Playground planning regular content additions for the game, many have understandably had some concerns that we might see Fable get delayed past its previously confirmed Fall 2026 launch window, potentially even to 2027. According to a new post from the studio, though, the RPG is still on track for its release this year.

"After the incredible launch of Forza Horizon 6 this week, the excitement across the studio is sky-high," began the developers in a LinkedIn post about job openings. "But we’re not done yet. With Fable coming later this year, we’re continuing to recruit across multiple disciplines to bring more exceptional talent into the team."

While there was never any definitive reason to believe we wouldn't end up getting the Fable reboot this year, it's reassuring to see Playground Games reaffirm its release window all the same. Notably, we still don't have a specific release date yet, but I'm sure one will come on June 7 during the Xbox Games Showcase.

We last saw Fable in January during Xbox Developer Direct 2026, with Playground providing fans with a lengthy 11-minute long deep dive into the RPG's immersive and reactive gameplay systems, along with a look at some of its low-key slice-of-life roleplaying opportunities and its unashamedly British humor that's deeply woven into the experience.

Pretty much everyone here at Team Windows Central, myself included, thought what Fable's developers had to show was great, and believe Xbox games have a bright future if they're all as high-quality as Fable seems to be. Of course, we won't know if the fantasy adventure is actually good until it's in our hands, but I certainly have high hopes.

The creator of the franchise, Peter Molyneux, evidently does as well; he said he was "tearing up" as he watched the RPG's gameplay reveal and overview, and felt it was "really smart" to opt for a reboot instead of a sequel to the series that was put on hiatus long ago. "F*** me. This thing that we created, it's going to live, it’s going to carry on," he said.

Are you looking forward to playing Fable later this year? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll as well.

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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).