Just over a month after denying a rumor that Fable would be delayed into 2027 to avoid the Grand Theft Auto 6 behemoth, Fable has been delayed into 2027 because "the year is packed with incredible games," one of which just happens to be Grand Theft Auto 6.

"Packed" is maybe overstating it a bit, based on the list rolled out by the official Xbox account on X, including Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Control Resonant, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and—finally—Grand Theft Auto 6. Modern Warfare 4 is going to suck up some oxygen, sure, but overall I feel like it's a list that leaves room for a big-name release like Fable. Except for one of them, I suppose.

"In order to plan our game launches through the holidays, we're moving Fable to February 2027 so it can have the dedicated moment it deserves," Microsoft said. "We're excited to be giving players a major new look at Fable, as well as our broader lineup, at Xbox Games Showcase on June 7."

While we don't have a solid new release date at this point, the February 2027 target is at least a little more precise than the previous launch window of fall 2026. Will it actually arrive in February? Maybe—maybe even probably—but given that we've been talking about Fable 4, as it was known in those days, since at least 2019, which was a full-on decade after the release of Fable 3, I'm going to mark my calendar in pencil, just in case.