Fable Shouldn’t Have Run Scared From Grand Theft Auto 6

Recently, Microsoft announced that Fable is no longer launching this fall and will instead be released in February 2027. The reason for the delay? Like so many other games, it looks like Fable is running away from the massive shadow created by Grand Theft Auto VI's release on November 19. Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty all but corroborated this on the Xbox Podcast, stating that we want to make sure that the game has a window of its own, so we are going to move it from this fall to February. This is conventional wisdom for the entire industry: Avoid Grand Theft Auto VI, because there's no way any game won't get buried in its wake this November. Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani--developer of Helldivers 2--believes the highly anticipated title will blot out the sun for everyone else. Earlier this year, a developer behind Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight shared that he was really glad his game wouldn't have to compete with Grand Theft Auto VI, which at one point was planned to launch around the same time. Even legendary developer Hideo Kojima reportedly expressed that moving out of the way from Grand Theft Auto VI is the smart play. Kojima then apparently noted how it was similar to Hollywood studios giving space to a new Mission: Impossible film, for instance. That's funny, in retrospect, as the live-action Lilo Stitch actually topped Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning at the box office last year, per The Hollywood Reporter. More recently, we've witnessed two 20-something filmmakers behind Backrooms and Obsession beat out a Star Wars movie at the domestic box office during The Mandalorian and Grogu's first week of availability, according to film-market analyst Jeff Bock. Coincidentally, Kojima's comments lead me to believe there's a different lesson we should take away from the film industry: Stop running scared of the big franchises. Counter-programming seems more popular than ever, and the idea games can't succeed alongside others has arguably been disproven already. Grand Theft Auto 6 We've seen recently that even brand-new gaming properties can launch alongside the biggest names in the industry. Arc Raiders wasn't scared to release between Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. That bold strategy led to Arc Raiders becoming a massive hit, even in the face of Battlefield 6 finishing as the top-selling game last year in the US. That wasn't the only time last year that people thought a revered brand would monopolize the market. In April 2025, there was consternation when Xbox shadow-dropped Oblivion Remastered right in front of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Well, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn't just survive against the beloved Elder Scrolls game: It thrived. The RPG from Sandfall earned the most Game of the Year awards ever and notched the same honor from GameSpot. Then there was Hollow Knight: Silksong, which caused quite a few indie game delays. The release-day shift possibly helped Baby Steps. But the same probably can't be said for Faeland and Aeterna Lucis, especially considering the latter still hasn't even come out. That hints at a delay announcement that just used Silksong for publicity instead of actually being related to Team Cherry's sequel. If Fable needs more development time to create the best player-experience, that's a whole other conversation. But if Xbox leadership believes this delay is necessary just because of Grand Theft Auto VI, that's where my concerns crop up. That signals that there is self-doubt behind Playground Games' first foray into the RPG genre. Yes, Grand Theft Auto casts a large shadow, but it's worth mentioning that Fable would have the PC marketplace to itself since Grand Theft Auto VI is only coming to consoles at launch this November. Basically, the market is big enough for multiple games to succeed at the same time. Just look at earlier this year: Forza Horizon 6 just crushed its franchise record on Steam, while 007 First Light sold 1.5 million copies in just 24 hours. Alinea Analytics reports estimated sales of over 1 million for Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Let's not forget the releases of the critically acclaimed Mixtape and Mina the Hollower, as well as the launch of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, too. Forza Horizon 6 Sure, none of these games can hold a candle to what Grand Theft Auto VI will sell at launch. But there isn't one game to rule them all in this industry. There are plenty of people who will be looking for something else this November, and Fable could have been a great option if the quality follows in the footsteps of what Playground has accomplished with the Forza Horizon series. But Fable won't be available this November. And it might not be the only notable game to run away from this holiday season. That's a shame, because some company or indie studio is going to ignore conventional wisdom and capitalize. Maybe Devolver Digital is being serious about releasing a game on Grand Theft Auto VI's launch. Maybe Nintendo puts out the reported Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake that same month. Maybe there's a game no one even expects at this point to capture our attention. What's not a maybe is that there is room for more than just Grand Theft Auto VI this November. I'm convinced of that, even if conventional wisdom says otherwise.