There's been one big question on many a fan's lips since the Fable reboot was first revealed: will there be a dog? And after the Xbox Developer Direct didn't give us an answer, I put that exact question to Playground Games general manager, Ralph Fulton.
"Do you know what? I was hoping that nobody would ask that question, although I think it was inevitable that someone would. We do not have a dog in this game," Fulton confirms.
Yes, there will be no faithful canine companion for our hero when we step into the open-world setting of Albion later this year. And while Fulton didn't have the chance to expand on the decision overly much since we were at tail-end of my interview time, he did add quickly that: "I guess what I would say is that the original trilogy didn't have a dog until 2".
And Fulton's not wrong. The dog was first introduced in the 2008 sequel to the original game, Fable 2. Following our intrepid hero – or villain, depending on which good or evil alignment you leaned towards – the doggo would alert us to chests or dig spots, growl when enemies were nearby, and even help us in certain questlines. The protagonist in Fable 3 also had a pooch, but the dog's role wasn't as prominent as its predecessor.
With so many harboring a lot of love for Fable 2 (myself included), the dog has always felt like such a major character in the series. Still, with over 1,000 NPCs inhabiting the world that we can get to know (in more ways than one), we won't be pressed for company by the sounds of it.
I can't say I'm not just a little bit sad we won't have a faithful fluffy friend at our side as we venture through Albion, but with the upcoming action-RPG set to bring back so many life-sim elements I love – like property purchasing, jobs, romance – along with character customization, and the return of one major Fable 2 location in Bowerstone, the Fable reboot is very much calling my name as a longtime fan of the series.
Fable is coming to PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 this Autumn 2026. For more, check out our interview with Playground.
