facebook rss twitter

Microsoft confirms Fable Legends is a free-to-play game

by Mark Tyson on 27 February 2015, 12:05

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Windows 10, Xbox

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacpjg

Add to My Vault: x

Microsoft has confirmed that Lionhead's four-versus-one cross-platform RPG title Fable Legends will be free-to-play exclusively its Xbox One and Windows 10 PC platforms.

The studio has been inspired by Riot and its success with MOBA League of Legends, in terms of gameplay and how consumers will pay for it. Lionhead will rotate the four heroes that will be available to play for free every fortnight, whilst allowing players to unlock and add them to their stable for permanent use with in-game silver earned through quests or using real world cash.

Not a pay-to-win game

"There are free-to-play games like World of Tanks out there that are very much a pay-to-win kind of experience," David Eckelberry, Fable Legends game director told Eurogamer. "For me the better ones for the customers are the ones where you get to enjoy all of the content without paying money. And then you pay if you want to."

The rotation of characters will not affect the player's hero and equipment progress, allowing them to start where they left off each time their character returns. Native creatures to each quest will also be available to play for free for those who prefer to play as the villain. However, in-game currency or real money will be required to unlock non-native creatures to maps that wouldn't usually support them. In addition, traps and gates and magic standing stones will be up for grabs, as well as chests of randomised equipment including weapons, augments, armour, items and potions.

Some customisations including hair and outfits will be unlockable via silver coins or real money, but there will also be some that can only be purchased with cash. Gamers will need an Xbox Live Gold membership to play Fable Legends on Xbox One, where progress and items earned could be synced with the PC version. The title will feature cross-platform multiplayer between Xbox One and PCs running Windows 10, and Lionhead have plans to add new heroes, creatures, quests and arch villains to the game in varying seasons.

HEXUS Forums :: 11 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
Posted by Wozza63 - Fri 27 Feb 2015 13:11
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
Posted by Plasmastorm - Fri 27 Feb 2015 15:29
May not be all that bad. For example I played startrek online for about 3-4 months without spending a penny. Then bought a £20 in-game thing as a way of supporting the Dev team.

If Fable is truly like that then it's a +1 for me but you know it's going to be a pay to win scenario by the time it comes out.
Posted by ZaO - Fri 27 Feb 2015 16:29
But, ‘Free to play’ is always Pay to win, in my experience. Or you sometimes have the option of grinding for way too many hours to win. Planetside 2 is an example I like to use for this. People will argue that you can get all the stuff that matters without spending money. But I tried, and it requires you to treat that game like a full time job. I would rather just pay them £30-£40 and have the full game, even if I have to spend some hours unlocking weapons. I hate all the ridiculous amount of choice of different weapons, items and power ups as well. That stuff really puts me off. It's such a mess, designed purely to milk money out of people. You'd have to try an insane amount of things to figure out what a good setup is. The free to play model has never ever been a good thing from what I've seen. I don't bother with it at all anymore!

I think EA have actually done quite a good job with in the way they've done it with BF4 (bar the premium exclusive items. And I have a premium account..). Praising EA is not exactly something I'm fond of, either…
Posted by Saracen - Fri 27 Feb 2015 17:59
Hmmm.

I guess a lot depends on how this is implemented, but I have a simple attitude, which is that I want to know what a game, or an OS on subscription for that matter, is going to cost BEFORE I get involved. So, I simply will not pay for in-game items, whether it's to ‘enhance the exoerience’, or pay-to-win. Either way, personally, not happening.

So …. if a game is genuinely free-to-play, the question for me is is it playable enough to enjoy without in-game payments? If so, it's a winner, and if not, it's not.

The next issue is XB1. So far, I've not seen the need. And I'm NOT interested in Live accounts. I don't have MS accounts for existing Windows, having stuck determinedly to Local accounts, and I don't and never have had a Live, or Gold, or whatever they call it, account for my XB360.

And as for Win 10, for me, the jury is still very much out on whether I ever will upgrade to that.

So, if it requires an XB1 (don't have one, no plans for one), Live/Gold account (don't have one, no plans for one) or Win10 (jury out) then this release isn't terribly high up my priority list. In fact, it barely registers on my radar.
Posted by MercutioUK - Mon 09 Mar 2015 11:45
ZaO
But, ‘Free to play’ is always Pay to win, in my experience. Or you sometimes have the option of grinding for way too many hours to win. Planetside 2 is an example I like to use for this. People will argue that you can get all the stuff that matters without spending money. But I tried, and it requires you to treat that game like a full time job. I would rather just pay them £30-£40 and have the full game, even if I have to spend some hours unlocking weapons. I hate all the ridiculous amount of choice of different weapons, items and power ups as well. That stuff really puts me off. It's such a mess, designed purely to milk money out of people. You'd have to try an insane amount of things to figure out what a good setup is. The free to play model has never ever been a good thing from what I've seen. I don't bother with it at all anymore!

I think EA have actually done quite a good job with in the way they've done it with BF4 (bar the premium exclusive items. And I have a premium account..). Praising EA is not exactly something I'm fond of, either…

I could happily make a new account, login PS2 and be making a mark with basic gear inside an hour. If you want superb weapon systems on EVERY choice in gear, yes, you'll have to grind or spend money. Same with every RPG ever though, the best stuff isn't just given to you, at least in PS2 you aren't borderline useless until you get most of this gear.

I see this crap spouted a lot. There's a VERY big learning curve, after that, the weapons you use are next to irrelevant. Think of counterstrikes learning curve, are you one of those that gets owned and complains that “everyone in CS cheats” or do you accept there's a certain amount of time taken to “get good?”.

From a bias point of view, yes, play and enjoy PS2. I still use the same primary weapon the heavy gets on day 1 with an nightsight scope on it (which would take you about 30 minutes play to earn).

Now, agreed, there's plenty of games where the pay to win thing DOES occur. It's definitely not the case everywhere though and it shouldn't always be looked for/at in games that go that route. If you are paying for “random loot chests” or anything that's significantly better than the non payment option then yes, P2W. I'm even on your side of the fence with long grind stuff that is significantly better.

I think to round it off:

Cosmetic: Don't care
Gear: Sidegrades are a slippery slope, better/alternative long grind is clearly into P2W territory

In PS2's case the only “must have” bits are better armour (which can't be unlocked with real money) a decent scope that suits your playstyle and some form of explosives/better explosives which are about the only bit you can go the P2W route with (or unlock with a couple of days play/in a couple of hours once your playstyle improves). There's cheap options for most bits of gear that are completely serviceable.

SEE NEWER »