It’s that time of year. The time when publishers and studios begin sheepishly announcing that their original release date predictions for games were far too optimistic. Gamers can expect at least a few game delays for titles that are currently scheduled to be out by the end of the year, probably with new tentative February or March 2014 dates.
That’s exactly what has happened with the HD remake of Fable. Lionhead Studios today announced that Fable Anniversary has been delayed until February of next year.
Fable Anniversary was announced for the Xbox 360 back at this year’s E3. In addition to upgraded visuals, the remake is expected to have better controls and a better save system.
The specific reasons for the delay were not revealed, though Lead Designer Ted Timmins did say in his Lionhead blog post that the studio needs “a little more time in order to meet our ambitions and give you, the fans, the best game possible.” He also teased some new announcements about the title in the coming weeks. From the blog post:
It’s not easy making these decisions and I know that us asking you to wait a little longer whilst we get to play test the game every day is downright unfair, so over the next few weeks we’re going to be sharing with you more screenshots, more game footage and perhaps even some… top secret announcements!
Though it would seem to be a simple matter to upgrade Fable with new graphics, the remake probably isn’t a priority for Lionhead. The studio is currently working on the next-gen co-op-enabled Fable Legends for the Xbox One. Speaking of the Xbox One, porting Fable Anniversary to Microsoft’s next-gen console before release would also explain today’s delay announcement – though that’s pure speculation.