Fable Isn’t Out of the Woods After Microsoft Layoffs and Cancellations

Recently, Microsoft laid off over 9000 employees. These cuts were made among several divisions, with Xbox being severely impacted, several projects being shut down, and other unannounced projects being dialed back. Announced cancellations include the Perfect Dark reboot (with The Initiative being shut down), Rare’s Everwild, and a new ZeniMax MMORPG (which Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer reportedly really liked). It’s hard to see this as anything other than Microsoft/Xbox undermining its gaming efforts to double down on AI, especially as an Xbox producer suggested laid-off employees use AI for “career planning and clarity.” It was such a dark day that the safest assumption should be that it’ll get worse before it gets better, putting several games into question—including tentpole IPs like Fable.

While there were murmurs and media reports ahead of the June 2 layoffs, the truth of the matter is that several employees were no doubt blindsided. Many, many studios lost personnel, and if games with the strengths of Perfect Dark and ZeniMax’s MMORPG can get the axe, then anything can. In the wake of these layoffs, it’s up to leadership to deliver clear messaging, set forth clear expectations, and show the way to avoid these situations, but perhaps worse than Xbox outright canceling Fable is the lack of communication around it.

Is Fable 2026 Canceled? Silence Speaks Louder Than Words

Since the layoffs, Xbox has not officially commented on any future projects—and it’s unlikely to do so. The most information comes from Variety, whose source claims that every game featured at the Xbox Games Showcase presentation in June was “safe.” The problem, of course, is that several projects were not “featured” at the showcase. Spencer did tease a Halo: Combat Evolved remake for 2025, as well as mention a new Forza game (likely Forza Horizon from Playground, not Turn 10’s which was hit hard by layoffs), Gears of Wars: E-Day, and Fable coming out in 2026 too. However, it’s unclear if this guarantees anything for them. Little is currently known/shown about any of these games, with Forza Horizon being educated guesswork, but it has not been properly announced. After the June 2 layoffs, it’s hard to trust that anything is safe, and assuming anything is without outright confirmation, release dates, or the like becomes a dangerous game.

• These timelines are eerily similar. It’s worth noting that there were more reports of high-level shake-ups with Perfect Dark and The Initiative, but similar shake-ups have been reported at points in Fable‘s development, too.

Presumably, the games mentioned at the Xbox Games Showcase are further in development than other projects. They are releasing next year after all, which means they should be in some stage of polish. That, alone, does not protect these games, and there is historical precedent here. Fable Legends was announced in 2013, had a closed beta in 2014, and was reportedly in the final polishing stages in 2015. Fable Legends was canceled when Microsoft suddenly closed Lionhead near the start of 2016. Meanwhile, Xbox’s Scalebound was one of the most exciting games in its catalog when it was announced at E3 2014, received a delay but was set to release in 2017, and was ultimately canceled in all that time. Reportedly, it was canceled so late because of failures between PlatinumGames and Microsoft, with the game not being as far along in development as fans may have thought.

And that poses a big question: is Fable 2026 as far along in development as fans think? How much gameplay have they actually seen? Why had marketing been lackluster before the delay (if the teams were working to hit these release dates)? Why was the delay announced in February, and why was it over a year? There have been encouraging reports that would indicate that, yes, everything is proceeding and that Fable will hit its 2026 release window. But no word from Xbox in the wake of the layoffs. The silence on Fable speaks louder than saying it is safe, that it is releasing, and that every other game like Gears of War: E-Day is safe. The silence for employees also speaks louder than words, with no one having security while working in their field of passion.

Right now, it’s hard to say whether or not Fable is just delayed or will end up canceled at the finish line. The secretive nature of the industry often means things are learned after the fact, if they are ever learned at all. The point stands regardless: it should not be hard to say whether a tentpole IP is in danger or not. The thought that it could be shouldn’t even be entertained, but there is little proof to the contrary and even fewer reasons to have faith now.

Fable

Systems

Released

2026

Publisher(s)

Xbox Game Studios

Engine

unreal engine 4, forza tech

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