Playground Games has done a remarkable job of keeping Fable 4 out of the spotlight. Lots of major games see their content spoiled online nowadays, but the new Fable game has eluded fans thus far. There have only been a handful of Fable 4 leaks, and they don’t provide a particularly clear picture of the game despite some being interesting ideas. Notably, one Fable leaker has claimed that Fable 4 does have some kind of multiplayer component, possibly allowing fans to group up and go on adventures together like in previous Fable games.
Longtime fans would certainly appreciate the opportunity to play the new entry together, but Playground Games shouldn’t just settle for bringing back the previous multiplayer model. Rather, it would be great to see Fable 4 lean heavily into multiplayer and give players lots of new powers. While previous Fable games have had co-op, they’ve also had multiplayer imperfections that might have discouraged fans from working together. Fable 4 ought to use the modern state of online multiplayer and a more flexible party system to deliver a Fable co-op experience unlike anything fans have experienced.
A New Age of Fable Multiplayer
Multiplayer didn’t join the Fable franchise until Fable 2. Simply having the feature was an improvement, but Fable 2’s co-op was limited; the second player took control of a Henchman who lacked basic gameplay privileges. Fable 3 had a more empowering co-op system, giving the other player a Hero who could spend money, grow in strength, and progress through the game in the same way as the other player, but it still had bugs and limitations.
If Fable 4 brings multiplayer back to the franchise, Playground should give fans as much freedom as it can when they play together. Ideally, Fable 4’s multiplayer could be similar to Borderlands multiplayer, with each player bringing a character from their own save file so they don’t have to control a default co-op character. It would be great to see Fable 4 expand multiplayer to up to four people, rather than sticking to two-player co-op like its predecessors, while letting each user do everything that the others can rather than tethering them to the party leader. When determining its vision for the Fable IP, multiplayer is the perfect place for Playground to push some boundaries.
Setting Fable 4 Apart
Strong multiplayer with large party sizes wouldn’t just help Fable 4 stand out from its predecessors; it could be invaluable in competing with other fantasy RPGs. There’s no sign of co-op multiplayer in Avowed or The Elder Scrolls 6, so if Fable 4 comes up with a unique co-op system, it could appeal to RPG-loving friend groups in a way its peers can’t. Playground is under a lot of pressure to make Fable 4 competitive in a dense market, so through multiplayer it might find a necessary competitive edge.
It’s important to remember that online multiplayer in Fable 4 is only a rumor for now, but the precedent of multiplayer features in the Fable franchise bodes well, even if there’s no other concrete evidence. While Playground seems eager to honor Fable’s heritage by creating a lighthearted world with heavy British influences, there’s no telling how dramatically Fable might change in the studio’s hands. Even so, dramatic changes don’t have to mean abandoning longstanding features. On the contrary, it can mean revisiting features like multiplayer co-op and working hard to make them better than ever.
Fable 4 is in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
