Playground Games Reveals Their Shift from Forza Horizon to Fable, Inspired by the Iconic RPG Since 2017

Forza Horizon developer Playground Games has been eager to explore new horizons beyond racing for nearly a decade, and they’re finally making that leap with Fable.

Ralph Fulton, Playground’s general manager, shared in an exclusive interview that discussions about expanding beyond Forza Horizon began shortly after the release of Forza Horizon 3. While that title was a significant success and the team was hitting its stride, aspirations for new challenges began to emerge.

“The idea of forming a second team and venturing into a different project stemmed from our desire to push ourselves – to learn and evolve as developers,” he explains. “We wanted to see if we could create a game in a different genre.” At that point, Fable wasn’t on the table, but the team was ready for something fresh.

Playground Games recognized that their strengths lay in open-world game design, technology, and streaming capabilities. “We had become quite proficient in those areas, which naturally led the conversation toward Fable,” Fulton notes.

He recalls, “I can’t remember who first brought up Fable, but once I heard it, I was completely on board. It was all I could think about because we have a deep love for that series here, just like fans do worldwide. The idea of building a new Fable game felt like the perfect fit.” Now, after more than five years since its announcement, Fable had its first major showcase recently, with a release window set for late 2026.