{"id":18747,"date":"2026-09-15T16:57:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/?p=18747"},"modified":"2026-09-15T16:57:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:57:32","slug":"this-is-why-xbox-protected-the-improvement-of-fable-amid-layoffs-and-studio-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/this-is-why-xbox-protected-the-improvement-of-fable-amid-layoffs-and-studio-closures\/","title":{"rendered":"This is Why Xbox &#8216;Protected&#8217; the Improvement of Fable, Amid Layoffs and Studio Closures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/games\/fable\">Fable<\/a> maker Playground Video games has detailed how its upcoming RPG survived a decade in growth, amid layoffs and studio closures throughout the remainder of Xbox. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Early work on constructing Fable&#8217;s crew started in 2017, only a yr after Microsoft shut down basic Fable maker Lionhead Studios. 10 years on, Playground Video games&#8217; Fable will lastly launch after a mammoth growth, into a really completely different gaming panorama. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">When work on Fable started, Xbox was nonetheless to accumulate We Pleased Few maker Compulsion Video games, Psychonauts studio Double Fantastic, State of Decay developer Undead Labs, or Hellblade crew Ninja Principle \u2014 all corporations it subsequently solid adrift this summer season. Xbox was but to arrange The Initiative, the crew it pumped thousands and thousands into for the needs of constructing Excellent Darkish, then closed after 7 years with nothing to point out for it. There was no signal Xbox would splash out $7.5 billion on Bethesda (together with id, MachineGames, and the now-divested Tango Gameworks). And there was definitely no inkling it could drop $68.7 billion on Activision Blizzard.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"\/><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">The 100 Greatest Xbox Video games of All Time<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"What is an Xbox? Microsoft has spent 25 years trying to answer the question, but for fans, the answer is easy: \u201cXbox\u201d evokes one-eared headsets wired into the memory card slots of massive controllers with breakaway cords. A dashboard with gleaming skeuomorphic blades and avatars adorned in earned accessories. That sound that plays when a hard-earned Achievement finally pops. \u201cXbox\u201d means heavy-duty hardware. Tactile sensations. Friends connecting for the first time. And that\u2019s before we even get to the games.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;It may be that the very idea of an Xbox game is coming to an end. Microsoft has undeniably shifted its tactics, with a new focus on multi-platform releases, handheld Xboxes that are actually miniature Windows computers, and the potential that future Xbox consoles may simply be gaming PCs. So now seems as good a time as any to look back at the entire history of Microsoft\u2019s console journey and rank the best Xbox games, with help from our friends at Outside Xbox, the multimillion-subscriber channel that serves up weekly videos about video games and video game-adjacent things&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;When we say \u201cthe best Xbox games,\u201d we mean the ones that most evoke that weighty sense of \u201cXboxness.\u201d Some are first-party, most are exclusives, and all of them are indelibly tied to the legacy of and fondness for a platform that\u2019s left a massive mark on gaming. These are the 100 Best Xbox Games of All Time. We'll be updating this list daily with 25 games at 7am PST\/10am ET\/3pm GMT from Tuesday, 20th January to Friday, 23rd January, until number one is revealed.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3027214138 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Likewise, there was no telling that Microsoft&#8217;s many acquisitions could be adopted by successive waves of layoffs. 1,900 jobs have been slashed in January 2024, many from the newly-acquired Activision Blizzard, whereas no less than 650 employees have been let go later that yr, and Redfall maker Arkane Austin was closed. Final yr, in the meantime, 9,000 employees departed Microsoft as the corporate pivoted in direction of AI spending, wiping out The Initiative and scores of employees from each Forza Motorsport crew Flip 10 and veteran British outfit Uncommon, which noticed its meandering work on Everwild ended after greater than a decade.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">And there have been this yr&#8217;s layoffs, the primary to come back from new Xbox boss Asha Sharma. These will in the end find yourself hitting 3,200 employees, with vital doubt now positioned on the way forward for Marvel&#8217;s Blade maker Arkane Lyon.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">So, how did Fable survive all of that? Talking to <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/games\/2026\/sep\/15\/we-were-bored-of-traditional-fantasy-cliches-inside-playground-games-10-year-effort-to-revive-fable\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\">The Guardian<\/a>, director Ralph Fulton defined that the Fable franchise merely remained &#8220;very important&#8221; to Xbox.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;I genuinely assume Fable is a crucial sport,&#8221; Fulton stated. &#8220;What has protected us over an extended growth cycle is that so many individuals inside Xbox view Fable as very important to the DNA of the platform. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;I&#8217;d go a step additional and say it is essential to video video games as an entire,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It affords a mix of components that merely would not exist anyplace else.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Video video games don&#8217;t usually get the luxurious of getting decade-long growth cycles, and it does really feel like Fable is considered one of Xbox&#8217;s few core manufacturers that stay central to the platform, alongside Halo, Forza and Gears of Conflict. In comparison with these, it is maybe not a shock to see Xbox push on with the sport&#8217;s prolonged street to launch, even because it ditched untested concepts like Everwild (which appeared a way from launch nonetheless, even after a decade within the oven). After which there&#8217;s the truth that, whereas one crew inside Playground was busy constructing Fable, one other was simply as busy pumping out its hugely-successful and well-regarded Forza Horizon video games, which will definitely have helped pay the payments.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Regardless of the case, we&#8217;re very comfortable Fable is now nearing the top of its journey \u2014 and looking out ahead to taking part in it when it lastly arrives on February 23, 2027.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"author-sign-off\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"author-sign-off\" data-cy=\"author-sign-off\"><span class=\"stack jsx-59817748 jsx-1927875859\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rounded jsx-444076027 jsx-4218469134 profile-thumb jsx-2141281959 aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-1-1\"><img alt=\"Tom Phillips Avatar\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image profile-thumb-img jsx-249361588 jsx-2338608387 expand\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/assets-prd.ignimgs.com\/avatars\/682ae571844d33001df37887\/bafkreidcdvzaebn4npc6hj3ffj6fzlg3kqnfpgazyarf24lfrnboi6lzbe-1747728739638.jpg?crop=1%3A1&amp;width=56&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=80 1x, https:\/\/assets-prd.ignimgs.com\/avatars\/682ae571844d33001df37887\/bafkreidcdvzaebn4npc6hj3ffj6fzlg3kqnfpgazyarf24lfrnboi6lzbe-1747728739638.jpg?crop=1%3A1&amp;width=56&amp;dpr=2&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=80 2x\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-2509706801 jsx-3630940851\"><span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-702910195 author-sign-off-header\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/person\/tomphillipsIGN\"><\/p>\n<p>Tom Phillips<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Information Editor<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-2509706801 jsx-1220387432\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"author-sign-off-socials\" class=\"jsx-2877214176 author-sign-off-socials\"><button type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"listbox\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-label=\"View social links\" class=\"jsx-2877214176 socials-trigger\"><span title=\"X\" class=\"jsx-2877214176 social-icon-avatar\"><span class=\"ign-icon jsx-2877214176 jsx-2750866048 jsx-2788214270\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"jsx-2877214176\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/Twitter.d0b97af5.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><span title=\"Bluesky\" class=\"jsx-2877214176 social-icon-avatar\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ign-icon jsx-2877214176 jsx-2750866048 jsx-2788214270\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"jsx-2877214176\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/Bluesky.d8b4aa9b.svg?cors=0\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"interface jsx-1132626198 sign-off-text\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Tom Phillips is IGN&#8217;s Information Editor. You possibly can attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/tomphillipseg.bsky.social\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\">@tomphillipseg.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/section>\n<p><\/output><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fable maker Playground Video games has detailed how its upcoming RPG survived a decade in growth, amid layoffs and studio closures throughout the remainder of Xbox. Early work on constructing Fable&#8217;s crew started in 2017, only a yr after Microsoft shut down basic Fable maker Lionhead Studios. 10 years on, Playground Video games&#8217; Fable will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[10562,237,9372,648,4081,7153,108,3150],"class_list":["post-18747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","tag-closures","tag-development","tag-fable","tag-heres","tag-layoffs","tag-protected","tag-studio","tag-xbox"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18748,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18747\/revisions\/18748"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}