27 January 2026

Fable Has Brought Its Biggest Controversy to Rest, But It Shouldn’t Have Been an Issue in the First Place

By newsgame

Playground Games, a studio with a portfolio composed exclusively of the Forza Horizon open-world racing games, is developing the first non-Lionhead Fable game, due for release in 2026. While this monumental changing of the guard should be ripe for analysis, speculation, and discussion, online discourse about this Fable reboot has been largely characterized by one of the dumbest, most embarrassing pseudo-controversies I’ve seen in a lifetime of gaming.

After so much nonsensical babbling and complaining, none of it even matters anymore. In a recent Xbox Developer Direct, Playground Games offered the first deep dive into this new take on Fable, and it was worth the wait. Fable‘s lack of gameplay footage since its reveal has been a bit concerning, but this first real examination of its mechanics and systems paints a promising picture. Playground’s take on the Fable formula looks broader and more substantive (though hopefully not more pie-in-the-sky ambitious) than it ever has, with its combat, exploration, and role-playing aspects seemingly polished to a brilliant sheen. And of course, Playground Games highlighted the character customization of the game, which has been at the center of the Fable discourse for a long time now.

Explaining the Fable Protagonist Debacle, and Why It Doesn’t Matter Anymore

The Fable reboot is linked to a still-ongoing discussion about “wokeness” in gaming, not because of its representation of different races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, or gender identities, but because of the appearance of its marketed protagonist. The game’s first few teasers and trailers featured only one rendition of the player-character, a woman with freckles and brown hair. This marketing choice led many to assume that this character would be the only avatar available to players, despite Playground Games never indicating that it would depart from Fable convention in this way.

Among those who made this assumption, there were a number of surprisingly quick and vitriolic criticisms. Some viewers expressed disappointment and frustration about not being able to customize their character in a Fable game, while others expressed stranger concerns altogether. Both of these parties were jumping to conclusions, although one was considerably more toxic, bizarre, and hysterical than the other.

Fable’s Assumed Protagonist Was Deemed “Too Unattractive” by a Vocal Sect of Gamers

Some years ago, there began something of a campaign rallying against certain female protagonists online. The protests from these camps were not wholly about the increased representation of women in modern games, but more so about the women’s appearances. There were and remain a number of variations of this argument, but the core of this idea is this: women characters in video games are not good-looking enough, and this is indicative of a larger conspiracy against men or “real” gamers.

The logic of these scorned players seems to follow the typical patterns of entitlement and paranoia. These gamers believe that they deserve to be pandered to in one way or another, and when they feel they are not being pandered to, they assume that this is because some enemy (in many cases, organizations like Sweet Baby Inc and “DEI” in general) wishes them harm or insult. At its core, it’s a very self-centered and insecure philosophy, one that makes its followers believe they are either the targets of some attack or are not getting the treatment they deserve as some special class of gamer. Both of these mindsets prompt followers to lash out.

Fable, alongside Horizon Forbidden West and Star Wars Outlaws, was a bit of a poster child for this grating movement. Even today, you can look at the game’s reveal trailers on YouTube and social media and see comments with hundreds or thousands of likes and supportive responses, all making some sort of judgment about the trailer character’s appearance. For example, here are some of the top comments on IGN’s upload of the 2023 Fable trailer:

“A face only a mother can love”
“Does anybody else notice besides me that the girl looks like a straight up dude?? Wtf?”
“Do not tell me that thing is the main character, the developers must hate us so much if that is the case”

These comments are not atypical, and their kind was much more prevalent around the time of these trailers’ release. Also worth noting is the like-dislike ratio of these early Fable trailers, which are almost all at least 50% negative. It’s hard to believe that this is unrelated to the criticism of the protagonist’s appearance, or other complaints about the game being made for a “modern audience,” a claim that often falls away to reveal the same sexist anti-protagonist sentiment upon further investigation.

There Was Absolutely No Reason to Believe that Fable Would Not Allow Protagonist Customization

It’s absolutely strange and baffling that anyone believed that Fable‘s protagonist would not be customizable in the first place. Sure, its early trailers showed only one rendition of the player-character, but this is common for these sorts of custom character RPGs. For instance, reveal trailers for Skyrim and Dark Souls 3 never explicitly stated that the games would feature character customization, but it was assumed that they would because of the series’ histories. CD Projekt Red recently discussed why Cyberpunk 2077 marketing focused on one version of V at certain times. In the case of Fable, it was always going to feature character customization. Any insistence otherwise is backpedaling to claim a pseudo/mental victory.

The Simmering of Toxic Fable Discourse Reminds Me That the World Keeps Spinning

I’m quite used to weird, cringe-inducing, and embarrassing behavior from the gaming community. Any culture as broad, multifaceted, and online-centric as this one is bound to foster fringe beliefs and problematic behaviors in certain areas. But I’ve been particularly focused on the aforementioned discourse, mostly because I can’t imagine why on Earth anyone would care so much about how attracted they are to a video game character. It’s been depressing to see that so many people with whom I share this beloved hobby are not only sexist (something that, sadly, has been obvious for decades), but also so incredibly shameless. Outside the confines of social media, decrying a piece of media because it doesn’t make a character sexually appealing enough for you is often grounds for endless ridicule and shame. I always assumed that no one would want to be viewed as “that guy,” which is why I’ve been confused by so many gamers rushing to proudly identify as such.

But now, looking at Fable‘s most recent gameplay showcase, one that completely buries any notion of a static or predetermined protagonist appearance, I feel a bit embarrassed myself. Social media makes it easy to get angry, especially toward an imaginary group. Just like how the angry Fable fans seemed to believe there was some cabal of evil feminists wishing to do them harm, so too was I convinced that this “ugly protagonist” discussion mattered, or that it was anything more than what the internet so often proliferates: the amplification of fringe, taboo, soulless ideas, purposely spread to incite anger, division, and conflict. I hope gamers can grow up a bit in 2026 and beyond, but regardless, I think I’ll stop giving them as much attention.