The latest Fable 4 rumor doesn't hold up, even if the game is probably real

A Fable 4 announcement (or Fable IV, I guess) is likely on the way, but the game's appearance on Microsoft's Mixer streaming website shouldn't be taken as confirmation. Following the discovery of a listing for the game on Mixer, which was originally shared by a Reddit user, many have concluded that Microsoft has slipped up by adding it to its database too early. 

But the Mixer database actually draws from player.me, an online tool for streamers with a largely crowdsourced database. At the time of writing, Fable IV has four 'players' on player.me, and the listing also appears on Twitch

The player.me entry lists Lionhead Studios Ltd. as its developer: likely not a mistake Microsoft itself would make, since Microsoft closed that studio in 2016.

While this rumour probably doesn't mean much, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if Fable 4 were announced at E3: there are strong rumours pointing to Forza studio Playground Games working on a revival for the series. We already know that the studio is definitely working on a non-racing, open world game, with the working title Project 2.

It's been nearly ten years since Fable 3, and a lot has changed since: its original creator, Lionhead Studios, has closed, taking with it the in-development MOBA Fable Legends. That wasn't the death of the series, though, because a free-to-play card game called Fable Fortune released in 2018, though it didn't exactly set the world ablaze. A new Fable game would probably need to work overtime to make a splash in 2019.

In any case, if a Fable 4 announcement is imminent it'll likely take place during Microsoft's E3 2019 press conference. Here is the full E3 2019 schedule.

Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.

Latest in RPG
Avowed Kai holding out his hand toward camera while explaining something to the player.
Avowed's new patch just gave you 6 more talent points to muck around with, along with a heap of fixes and improvements
Olivia, a hunter from Monster Hunter Wilds, looks perplexed in an icy blue environment.
Monster Hunter Wilds players wonder if frenzied monsters are a little undercooked, as one slaps a sickly bird into a fine paste in just 25 seconds
Sans, from the hit 2015 RPG undertale, folds his arms in a dashing suit as stonks rise in the background.
You can grab Undertale for less than $1, as the genre-defining indie RPG beats its all-time player peak for the first time in 10 years
KOTOR remake returns for annual tradition of reminding you it's still alive, but no you can't hear anything more about it until it comes back next year to say it again
Alligator skull with glowing eyes on human body and cords coming out sitting at piano with "The Norwood Etudes" ready to play
My new most anticipated RPG let me be a kleptomaniac gourmand set loose in a noir city on a quest to make 'the perfect sandwich'
Rise of the Ronin review
Rise of the Ronin review
Latest in News
Avowed Kai holding out his hand toward camera while explaining something to the player.
Avowed's new patch just gave you 6 more talent points to muck around with, along with a heap of fixes and improvements
In-game recreation of iconic Indiana Jones stealing the idol in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Silent Hill 2 remake and Indiana Jones are at historically low prices this Steam Spring Sale—so long as you don't buy them directly from Steam
MSI RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Trio OC Plus graphics card under a red light
This MSI Afterburner file unlocks 36 Gbps RTX 50-series memory overclocks for, y'know, the few people that actually own a card
A Steam Deck with SteamOS running in desktop mode.
A new and improved desktop experience just landed on Steam Deck and SteamOS is readying 'support for non-Steam Deck handhelds'
Olivia, a hunter from Monster Hunter Wilds, looks perplexed in an icy blue environment.
Monster Hunter Wilds players wonder if frenzied monsters are a little undercooked, as one slaps a sickly bird into a fine paste in just 25 seconds
Inzoi character studio - A Zoi designed to look like Billie Eilish
Inzoi is giving eager life simmers another free taste of its gorgeous character creator, with a bonus build mode demo for the architecture nerds