Fable Returns In The Form of Free-to-Play Card Game Fable Fortune

There was a time when Fable was a marquee brand for the Xbox and one of the big deal franchises of the sixth and seventh generation of consoles. But after Microsoft shut down developer Lionhead Studios, it seemed the sun had set on the world of Albion.

However, Fable Fortune is one project that survived the shuttering of Lionhead. A collectible card game set in the Fable universe, it's been in Early Access on Steam and the Microsoft Store for some time. Today, developer Flaming Fowl Studios announced that the game will leave Early Access and launch as a free-to-play title for Xbox One and PC by the end of this week.

Fable Fortune features a single-player story mode, Heroic Tales, which lets players "experience the dramatic histories of the game's hardy Heroes". There's also an emote system for rudimentary comms between opponents, much like Hearthstone. And because it's Fable, one of those emotes is a fart.

Prior to this announcement, Fable Fortune had a Founder's Pack for $14.99 on Xbox One and Steam that grants players 20 card packs and a "very rare" Giant Egg card. That option will still be available once the game goes free-to-play. 

Fable Fortune has an interesting history. It was in development at the Lionhead Studios together with Fable Legends, an online game that pits four player-controlled adventurers against one player-controlled villain. When Microsoft shut down Lionhead both games were presumed to be DOA.

However, former Lionhead staffers got together to form Flaming Fowl and were granted use of the Fable license to finish and release the game. In some way, this last-ditch to salvage the project led to a gradual rekindling of interest in the world of Albion, with some rumors that Microsoft is looking to renew the franchise. Just rumors, but still.