Microsoft has confirmed that the open beta for Fable Legends, the upcoming free-to-play action-RPG from developer Lionhead Studios, will not be making its pre-Christmas release date as previously announced. Instead, fans can now hope to see the open beta launch during Spring next year. The game’s creative director, David Eckelberry, explained the decision to prolong the closed beta phase via a YouTube video published on the developer’s channel.
In the video, Eckelberry states that the delay is due to the team still needing to carry out some all important fine-tuning based on the feedback from players of the closed beta. “That means adding some additional features and elements of polish that we feel can make a real difference,” he says.
Eckelberry goes on to explain how the game’s vast scope and scale are the main factors for the hold up:
To be honest with you, we rather underestimated how big of a game Fable Legends is becoming. We’ve really created two games at once: We’ve got a multiplayer RPG on one side and a kind of RTS on the other. One top of that, we’ve built a new world and whole new story to tell. This is the most ambitious game we’ve ever done at Lionhead, and it’s taking more time than we thought.
Lionhead has also made the announcement on the game’s official website, where the developers have also said they will “invite an additional 100,000 fans to the Fable Legends closed beta over the next few weeks, prioritising those that have been waiting the longest.” You can sign up for the beta here.
The open beta for Fable Legends will launch for free on Windows 10 and Xbox One at some point over the course of Spring 2016.