In 2020, Xbox announced that a newFablewas in development at Playground Games, as a new team was spun out of the studio known for theForza Horizonseriesof racing games. Obviously, that is a very intriguing combination. It will be Playground’s first non-racing game, not to mention the return of one of Xbox’s most beloved franchises. Information has been scant, however, as the game’s still early in development. That’s why a job shift fromCyberpunk 2077dev CD Projekt Red to Playground is worth drawing attention to.
Paweł Kapała is now confirmed to have been hired by Playground Games for the role of Principal Gameplay Designer. Listed on Kapała’s LinkedIn account, he writes that he’s responsible for “Designing and implementing Combat inFable.” Clearly, that is a very large role to fill, regardless of the employee’s experience. After all, a new hire taking responsibility for a newFablegame’s combat system is a lot of responsibility.
RELATED:Phil Spencer Confirms That The Elder Scrolls 6 Won’t Release Until after Fable
It seems like Playground Games took hiring for the position very seriously, however, because Kapała has some legitimate experience behind him. Kapała’s previous work was with CD Projekt Red, where he held the role of Senior Gameplay Designer. Kapała started with CD Projekt Red in 2014, just ahead of the release ofThe Witcher 3, where he worked on enemies, encounters, and AI. From 2019, he worked onCyberpunk 2077’s melee and firearms combat systems, as well as balancing the game’s weapons.
Obviously, it’s impossible to draw any specific conclusions from a keyCyberpunk 2077combatdesigner now designing combat forFable, but it does raise an eyebrow. After all, it’s rumored that the newFablewill feature both first and third-person perspectives, so Kapała’s first-personCyberpunk 2077design experience could be directly applicable toFable. It’s also rumored that the newFablewon’t feature guns, though it could feature bows and spells. As such, it is easy to imagine how a senior combat designer taking their experience from a massive game likeCyberpunk 2077and bringing it to a franchise likeFablecould be beneficial.
One possible assumption worth making is that Playground’s plans forFableare going to be much more complex and mature than past games in the franchise. The originalFablegames had a relatively straightforward system for combat and skill progression. Kapała’s capable of much more, which would align with the more mature presentation showcased inFable’s announcement trailer.
It’s ultimately going to be some time before gamers get to see what Playground isputting together with its newFablegame. Expectations are very high for the franchise reboot, though, especially from a studio like Playground that’s known for exceptional games. Bringing inCyberpunk 2077’s combat designer may prove somewhat controversial, but it is also evident that Playground is taking the project seriously.
Fableis in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:Why Fable Could Be Going Back to the ‘Old Kingdom’ Era
