Molyneux Would Love to Make Fable 4
By Anthony Taormina 02 December 2016
Former creative director Peter Molyneux says he would love to make Fable 4, but acknowledges the hurdles in place after Microsoft closed down developer Lionhead Studios.
Despite the missed opportunities and the over promising from creator Peter Molyneux, the Fable series still seems to hold a special place in gamers’ hearts. For as much as the title will be intrinsically linked to Molyneux, whose love for embellishing features is widely known by now, Fable still offered something unique, and many would hope to see it continue. In fact, even Peter Molyneux would love to see a Fable 4 get made, even though he has moved on to form his own new studio.
While speaking with Games Radar, Molyneux reveals that he would “love to do Fable 4.” He acknowledges that the folks at his former home, Lionhead Studios, tried to make it happen, but things didn’t go according to plan. Instead of delivering a true sequel to Fable, Lionhead was tasked with working on Fable Legends, an asymmetric multiplayer game that few asked for and even fewer seemed to be interested in.
To make matters worse, the lack of interest in Fable Legends resulted in that project being cancelled and Lionhead shutting down. It was as if the developers were forced down a path they didn’t want to go down, and once that path turned out to be the wrong one they were also punished for pursuing the project.
It was only later that we learned that Lionhead had actually tried to make a Fable 4, which Molyneux acknowledges. Unfortunately somewhere along development the project shifted into Fable Legends, and the rest is history.
There is another Fable project in development, mind you, but it’s a Kickstarter-funded card game called Fable Fortune. Originally the Fable Fortune game was supposed to be included with Fable 2, but for some reason the side game never made it in. Now, some ex Lionhead developers are trying to bring it to life and give Fable fans a special treat. Granted it’s not proper Fable but it is something.
While it’s nice to think that Molyneux might return to the franchise that put him on the map for a lot of gamers, it seems very unlikely that a Fable 4 will ever happen. Microsoft controls the IP and has given now signs that it would like to continue with sequels. For all intents and purposes, when Microsoft shuttered Lionhead it also closed the book on the Fable property, as most know it. Maybe one day a franchise might come along that emulates Fable, and maybe even Peter Molyneux will be involved, but that’s only wishful thinking at this point.
Source: Polygon
