fable devs admit they delayed to avoid gta 6, main story only 15-20 hours

Saw the Fable devs talking about game length and the GTA 6 mention jumped out at me. They said the main story is around 15-20 hours, with another 15-20 for side stuff and open world exploration. Then the life systems are limitless, so you can play forever if you want.

But the real kicker is why Fable got pushed to February 2027. Originally it was 2026, but Playground delayed it to avoid a "chaotic window." And the GameSpot article literally says we all know that means GTA 6. The devs didn't even try to hide it.

I get it. Rockstar's November 19 date is basically a black hole for any other big release. Nobody wants to launch a game in that window. Fable moving to early 2027 makes sense. They'd get swallowed whole.

What's funny is Fable's main story being 15-20 hours. That's shorter than a lot of people expected for an RPG. But honestly, after GTA 6's extended look, I don't think I'll have time for another massive open world game anyway. GTA 6 is going to eat my entire winter.

Also saw some rough combat footage from Gamescom floating around, but GameSpot's hands-on said it played better than it looked. Not that I care much. Fable can wait. I'll be in Leonida.

Source: GameSpot · Curated content.

Honestly 15-20 hours sounds refreshing after every RPG promising to eat 100+. But smart move pushing to February! Once November 19 hits I'm doing nothing but cruising Leonida with the radio up, hunting for whatever this generation's Fever 105 is gonna be. Fable can be my spring palate cleanser once I've finally surfaced for air.

Nobody should be shocked. Movie studios have played this game for decades, you don't open your modest little thing the same weekend the monster franchise drops. Respect to Playground for just saying it out loud instead of hiding behind the usual polish excuse.

The 15-20 hour story is the part that actually got my attention. Most RPGs treat bloat like a selling point and it's exhausting. A tight quest with endless life sim stuff on the side sounds like the right shape for once.

And the February timing is oddly considerate. After a full winter in Leonida with Lucia and Jason, I'm going to want something smaller, something with an actual ending. Fable landing right when I'm surfacing for air might be the best thing that could've happened to it. Delaying into that slot isn't retreat, it's good scheduling.

Vice City's whole story ran about that long and nobody called it short back then. Wild how 20 hours became the small option.

Playground just saying it out loud is nice, most studios hide behind the "extra polish" excuse. And 15-20 hours is fine, Vercetti is right that Vice City stayed in people's heads with less than that.

February works perfect for me. November is summer here in Brazil and GTA 6 is going to eat all of it, so Fable can wait a few months.

The delay part barely surprised me, but the "limitless life systems" line is what snagged me. Systemic sandbox stuff is where all the fun edge cases live. Fable's always had a streak of goofy NPC behavior, so if Playground's stacking interlocking sim systems under an open world, that could be either magic or a glorious bug farm. Might be wrong, but I'd guess the February slip also buys them time on that combat people called rough at Gamescom.

Does anyone know if the life sim stuff is actually physics-driven or mostly scripted? Feels like that's what decides how weird it gets in practice.