lionhead-studios posts

PC gamers who were expecting to play Fable III alongside their Xbox 360 counterparts got some bad news today. IGN reports that the PC port of Lionhead's upcoming fantasy RPG will not be released on October 26 at the same time as the Xbox 360 version.

According to a press spokesperson from the game's publisher Microsoft, "The console and PC versions are now on different schedules as we're focusing on building experiences optimized for each platform. We aren't announcing a ship date for the PC sku at this time, but expect news soon." As we have mentioned before, the release of Fable III for the PC will be Microsoft's first published PC game since the release of the PC port of Gears of War way back in December 2007.

Earlier today Microsoft revealed that folks who pre-order the Xbox 360 version of Fable III will get an interesting extra: the ability to create a custom NPC via a web-based interface that will be able to be placed in the game world of Lionhead Studios' upcoming fantasy RPG. It's certainly a cool concept but our question, naturally, was, "Will people who pre-order the PC version of the game get the same feature?"

We posed that question to a Microsoft PR rep and got back this rather cryptic response:

We will be offering PC players the ability to pre-order "Fable III" for Windows, and in fact, retailers such as Amazon.com and Game (UK) are taking preorders today for the PC version of "Fable III." While we have no additional details to announce at this time, it is always our goal to provide fans with the best experience possible, regardless of which platform they choose to enjoy our games on.

As you can tell that statement isn't very clear at all and when we pressed for more info we were told that is the only statement Microsoft has on the matter at this time.

After Lionhead Studios released their RPG Fable II for the Xbox 360 as a full retail game, the developer released it again as a series of downloadable episodes via Xbox Live. Now Gamesindustry.biz has announced (free registration required) that Fable III will be getting a similar re-release via download sometime after the full game.

Lionhead Studios' head man Peter Molyneux states that the episodic release of Fable III will let the player check out the first chapter for free and then purchase the remaining episodes. Molyneux has high expectation for sales of Fable III, which will be released for the PC and Xbox 360 on October 26. He states, "We are driving to sell more than five million units and to make a profit in excess of $150 million."

A few weeks ago, Microsoft announced their first major PC retail game release in three years when it revealed its plans to port the upcoming Xbox 360 RPG Fable III to the PC platform. But was this announcement a one-off deal or is something else in the works that singles a new direction for PC game publishing for Microsoft?

Kotaku reports that according to what they say is an internal Microsoft Q&A memo for Fable III for use by spokespersons, the official stance seems to be that the Fable III PC announcement is not a one-off special. The article quotes the Q&A as saying, "Windows 7 is a world-class gaming platform, and you can bet Microsoft has a vested interest in using it as a platform for amazing first party content. "Fable III" on Windows as well as Xbox 360 this holiday is a great first step, and we'll have more news for you later this summer." Could this mean we could see other Xbox 360 first party games like Halo: Reach and Gears of War 3 coming to the PC or perhaps a PC exclusive title announcement? It would see the answer is, "Stay tuned."

Publisher Microsoft made PC players happy when they announced that developer Lionhead Studios was bringing Fable 3 to the PC alongside the Xbox 360 version. At today's official E3 2010 Xbox 360 press conference (as covered by our sister site Joystiq) it was revealed that the third game in the fantasy RPG series would ship out on October 36.

As we have mentioned before, the release of the PC version of Fable 3 also marks the return of Microsoft publishing PC games after an absence of nearly three years. Microsoft's last retail PC game was the PC port of Gears of War in 2007.

After lots of evidence that a PC version was indeed in the works, Microsoft has finally admitted that the upcoming Xbox 360 RPG sequel Fable III is also coming to the Windows PC platform. The game from developer Lionhead Studios, will be released via retail stores for $49.99 "this holiday" and will also be available via download on the Games For Windows Live client.

As we have mentioned before when this story first started as a rumor Fable III will be the first major retail PC game Microsoft will publish since the PC port of the original Gears of War game came out in late 2007. Unfortunately PC owners won't be able to buy a special Limited Collector's Edition of Fable III like their Xbox 360 counterparts.

Update: Microsoft has sent over word that while the PC version of Fable III won't get a retail Collector's Edition, PC owners of the game will be able to purchase and download in-game content that will be included as part of the Xbox 360's Collector's Edition. Specific content and pricing for the PC DLC has yet to be announced

While rumors first hit the internet about Lionhead Studios' upcoming Xbox 360 RPG Fable III's possible PC release earlier this year, a version of the Xbox 360 box art that popped up on the internet (and snagged by our sister site Joystiq before the original source pulled it off their site) seems to confirm that the game will indeed be showing up on Windows. As you can see above the box art clearly shows "Only On Xbox 360 & Windows" on top.

The game's publisher Microsoft, despite the evidence that seems to clearly show a PC version is in the works, has so far still not confirmed that Fable III is being released for the PC. If it is true it would be the first retail PC game Microsoft has released since their PC port of Gears of War came out back in late 2007.

Sometimes you just need to sit down, slide a floppy into your A: drive, and enjoy gaming retro style. We know this all too well! That's why we have a list of the best and brightest from days long gone. These are some of our favorite games of all time, and we're sure that you'll love them as much as we do, if not more. Welcome to Boot Disk, and enjoy the retro ride!

Peter Molyneux is known for his grandiose statements and his involvement with several of the most famous gaming franchises out there. Populous was a game he worked on, as was Theme Hospital, Fable, and Dungeon Keeper. However, perhaps the best-known example of his excessive hyping is the real-time strategy game Black & White. While it was certainly built up in the eyes of the public far more than it should have been, Black & White is hardly a bad game. In fact, looking back, it's a classic that got hammered initially, but only grew more and more likable as it aged. While that describes a lot of games, it fits Black & White the best.

The team at Lionhead Studios has mostly concentrated on making console games for the Xbox 360 in the last few years but its founder Peter Molyneux started out as a PC game designer, making classic games like Dungeon Keeper and others. However, in a video chat with our sister site Switched Molyneux stated that the PC as a platform for games is getting a second life (so to speak).

And just what is causing this rebirth of PC games? Facebook. Molyneux feels that the massive player success of games like Farmville shows that "gaming is being reborn on the PC." He adds, "I don't see why all those others like AAA blockbusters can't incorporate that sort of level of interaction."

Microsoft hasn't released a retail PC game since their port of the first Gears of War game in 2007. But are they planning to prep a PC port of Lionhead Studios' upcoming fantasy action-RPG Fable 3? A job description spotted by Kodugamer.com hints strongly that is indeed the case. While the actual job recruitment page has since been changed to "Unannounced Project" Kokugamer.com took a screenshot of the original page before it was altered.

As described, the job is for a network programmer who would port the network code for Fable 3 from the Xbox 360 and PC while also allowing both ports to work together. Cross-platform play between Xbox 360 and PC games is also something that hasn't been done recently.

The original Fable game was indeed released for the PC in 2005, a year after its release on the original Xbox game console. However Fable 2, released for the Xbox 360 in 2008, was not ported over to the PC. Fable 3, where you play the son or daughter of your character from Fable 2, is scheduled for a fall 2010 release for the Xbox 360. We have emailed Microsoft for comment about this new development.

[Thanks Mikko]

Update: Big Download has received Microsoft' official comment on this story: "We have nothing to announce at this time."