Microsoft Announces Fable III, Takes Fable II Episodic

By Geoff Duncan Published August 19, 2009

Microsoft Announces Fable III, Takes Fable II Episodic

Microsoft is going to let Xbox 360 users take a shot at gaining (and ruling) a kingdom in Fable III, the next installment of the company’s well-regarded fantasy RPG series. Announced at gamescom in Germany, Fable III will be set 50 years after the events in Fable II, as characters take on the role of the child of their hero in Fable II as they sit on the throne of the kingdom of Albion. Instead of following the traditional RPG path of starting as a powerless nothing and working one’s way up to top-dog status, Fable III will put players in charge…and then let them make the morally ambiguous, incompletely-informed, and crucial decisions that fall on the shoulders of all rulers. Will players stay true to their principles and live up to the values that brought them to the throne? Or will they become corrupt tyrants?

"We’ve spent a lot of time at Lionhead thinking about how we can innovate the gameplay and progress the world of the Fable games for its third chapter, and we’re confident that players won’t second-guess what we have planned for Fable III," said Lionhead’s creative director Peter Molyneux in a statement. "Though I can’t give too much away right now, players should expect to have to make much tougher choices with far wider consequences than ever before in Albion—and with many more interactive adventure elements."

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Microsoft plans to ship Fable III for the Xbox 360 in time for the 2010 holiday season—that would be a year after the upcoming holiday season, so there’s no reason for people to start holding their breaths now. However, folks looking to get a Fable fix may be excited to know Microsoft is launching Fable II: Game Episodes on September 29 via Xbox Live, which breaks up the entire Fable II experience into five installments; at the end of the episode, players will be able to choose to purchase the next episode or the entire game. The episodic version will also be compatible with retail disc-based versions of Fable II as well as Fable II add-ons; all versions also support multiplayer modes on the same console or via Xbox Live.

Microsoft did not release any pricing information for either Fable III or Fable II: Game Episodes.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is official and it’s coming this November

call of duty modern warfare iii release date makarov mwiii

Activision has confirmed a November 10 release date for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III with a teaser trailer following a barrage of leaks.
The shooter, which is going to be a direct sequel to 2022's Modern Warfare II, was the subject of lots of reports and leaks prior to this announcement. Reports from Bloomberg revealed that this game was originally going to be a Modern Warfare II expansion, but it later got upgraded to a full game. Then, over the summer, more game details started to leak before some Monster Energy advertisements revealed the game's title prematurely. Activision coyly acknowledged this leak on Twitter at the time, but finally pulled the curtain back on the project today with a video titled "Modern Warfare III is Coming."
Modern Warfare III is Coming
It begins with some green soundwaves on-screen and a lot of radio chatter in the background. Then, the soundwaves turn from green to red before the perspective then pushes into them, creating a trippy red void. In there, we briefly see waveform images of a snake and Captain Price before he says, "Never bury your enemies alive" over the silhouette of a new character. This is believed to be Vladimir Makarov, the villain of the original Modern Warfare trilogy, who was teased in the post-credit scene for last year's campaign. After all of that, the title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is confirmed, as is the release date of November 10.

This date falls right in line with the late October to early November window in which Call of Duty games usually come out. It also places its launch after Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition is expected to be complete, so it looks like this may be the first Call of Duty game released under Microsoft. Other than that date, official details on the game are fairly scarce. Thankfully, we shouldn't have to wait too much longer to learn more.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III launches on November 10.

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has seemingly leaked thanks to Monster

Five main characters from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.

It looks like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will be the title of this year's Call of Duty game. Following several leaks, including an undeniable one connected to Monster Energy, a joking tweet from the official Call of Duty Twitter account appears to confirm that this is true.
Leaks suggesting that 2023's Call of Duty game is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III have existed for months, but ramped up recently. On July 17, the Call of Duty Twitter account put up tweets asking if Operators, weapons, and bundles from Modern Warfare II should carry over to this year's game and teasing that a big reveal would happen alongside the unveiling of Season 5. Later that day, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier stated that this is a Sledgehammer Games-led project that started as an expansion and morphed into a full game.
Then, Monday morning, images of Monster Energy promotional materials connected to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III emerged on Twitter, giving us confirmation of the name and our first look at the game's logo.

A leak like this is pretty difficult to deny, so Activision decided to play along with it. "Whew. Mondays," the official Call of Duty account tweeted. "Anyone have an energy drink they can spare?"
While not a traditional, explicit announcement, this tweet confirms the validity of the Monster Energy leak and affirms that this year's Call of Duty will be a direct follow-up to 2022's Modern Warfare II. Now, we'll just have to wait and see when Activision decides to officially reveal more about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III itself.
Because it's not officially announced yet, we don't know what Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III's release date or launch platforms are. Still, it's likely that it will launch across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox sometime this October or November after Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition closes.

Gaming

Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition is going to take even longer

inarius diablo 4

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to extend the deadline for its impending merger. The companies now have until October 18 to close the deal, extending their original deadline by months.

The original cutoff for Microsoft's Activision Blizzard buyout was July 18, however, that finish line wasn't an easy one to cross. Just before that date, Microsoft had to face off against the FTC in a court case to decide the deal's fate. A San Francisco judge ruled in Microsoft's favor with only days to go before the July date. With a few other loose ends to tie up, Microsoft now has until mid-October to get it done.