Flaming Fowl’s Fable Fortune card game leaves early access this week and will be a free-to-play title available for PC and Xbox One.
The trek toward launching Fable Fortune has been long and difficult for Flaming Fowl’s team of ex-Lionhead developers. Originally announced as a Kickstarter project back in 2016, Fable Fortune was pitched to backers as a free-to-play collectible card game similar to Hearthstone, but with its own set of unique features such as a cooperative mode, leveling-up frequently used cards, and a morality alignment system that would affect how certain cards worked.
Despite many fans not wanting to see the Fable license lapse into limbo, Fable Fortune’s Kickstarter was on track to fail when Flaming Fowl abruptly cancelled the campaign with only a week left on the clock and just $86,000 of the $365,900 goal raised. At the time, Flaming Fowl announced the cancellation was due to their finding another source of funding, a source that would eventually be revealed to be Mediatonic, the studio behind games like Hatoful Boyfriend. With its funding secured, Fable Fortune entered early access in July 2017.
The version of Fable Fortune that will be launching on February 22 looks to be more or less what was originally pitched in the Kickstarter. Players can enter the struggle for Albion as any one of six different heroes. They’re tasked with completing quests as each match plays out and are given the opportunity to changes their Hero’s morality level upon completing those quests. Morality level, both good and evil, applies powerful modifiers to a hero’s unique ability and the cards that ability has influence over. The promised co-op mode is still present in the game as well. In it, players can bring in either a friend or another random player to take on bosses with their own themed decks and hero abilities. While the game is indeed still a free-to-play title, players will have the option of purchasing a “Founder’s Pack” for $14.99. This content package will give its buyers twenty card packs, the Flaming Fowl trophy card, and the Giant Egg card.
While many a Fable fan will certainly be pleased to see this title make it to a full and true release, there are sure to be plenty more who would rather see another proper entry in the series. Those fans might just be in luck though. Rumor has it that Playground Games, the minds behind Forza Horizon, is working on the next Fable game. The game is still unconfirmed, but between it and Fable Fortune there may yet be hope for Microsoft's ailing fantasy franchise.
Fable Fortune launches on February 22 for PC and Xbox One.
Source: Polygon