Xbox Game Studios

How many copies did Fable sell? — 2024 statistics

Unraveling tales in the storybook of stats.

Fact-checked
First Released
September 14, 2004
Genre
Action role-playing
Developer
Playground Games
Publisher
Xbox Game Studios

The Fable series, launched in 2004, has carved a niche in the RPG world with its captivating world of Albion and compelling quests. Over ten games, it has offered immersive gameplay experiences. As we await the rumored new game, let’s explore Fable statistics, including the pivotal question: How many copies did Fable sell? If you want to learn more about similar gaming topics, we can tell you all about the video game industry’s revenue!

Fable key stats

This section is going to examine some of the most basic statistics surrounding the Fable series, such as sales statistics, total revenue, and everything else we can find under the sun! Since the Fable series has remained trendy in the RPG community for many years, there is a lot of news to cover, so let’s get into it.

The Fable series has sold 12.6 million units.

(Source: VG Chartz)

  • The original Fable sold 3 million copies.
  • Fable 2 sold 5 million copies.
  • Fable 3 sold 3 million copies.

Immediately from the first line of stats, we can see that the Fable series did not sell as many copies as other successful franchises, but that does not mean that 12 million sales are anything to smirk at. Fable 2 is definitely the most popular Fable game, as is reflected in its sales compared to the other games. Overall, the total number of sales is fairly impressive and we expect the next Fable game to sell quite well too.

Fable sold 600,000 units in its first month in US alone.

(Source: Games Industry)

  • The game sold 375,000 units in North America in its first week.
  • By October 2004, the total sales for Fable were nearing 1 million.

To say that the original Fable game was a success would be no exaggeration since it took the #1 spot when it came to game sales in September 2004, thus paving the way for the rest of the series to have similar success. Of course, since the digital age has allowed gamers to acquire games much easier than before, so the initial sales of Fable in 2004 are considerably lower than the sales a new game might have today.

Fable Legends cost $75 million to make, but no one wanted to work on it.

(Source: Polygon)

  • The members of the now-shut-down Lionhead Studios wanted to make Fable 4, but they were pushed to work on Fable Legends.
  • Fable Legends was a free-to-play game, but it was plagued by various issues, and it ended up being canceled.
  • No one was expecting Fable Legends to last a long time, and no one was optimistic about its development from the moment the idea was pitched.

This is a story from the dark ages of Fable when Fable Legends was just announced and it was more than clear that the team had absolutely no intention of working on the game as they wanted to work on Fable 4. Fable 4 wasn’t in the works at that point, so the studio was left to work on this free-to-play game, which was eventually canceled and the studio was terminated.

There is a lot of pressure on Playground Games to produce a good Fable game.

(Source: GameRant)

  • Fable 4 is confirmed to be in development, and it will essentially serve as a reboot of the original trilogy.
  • Because of this, Playground Games is under a lot of pressure to learn from the mistakes of the previous games and release something that will keep fans hooked.
  • Some are speculating that the reason there have been no updates on Fable 4 is due to logistical issues.

When you suddenly take the reins on a new project with a legacy attached to it, there is bound to be a considerable amount of pressure on you to make sure that the game you make lives up to its predecessors and bring something new to the table at the same time. Something similar happened to the developers at EA Motive when they took on the monumental task of remaking the original Dead Space.

Peter Molyneux’s NFT game made $50 million selling virtual land.

(Source: GameByte)

  • The game is called Legacy and the plot of land is completely fictional, with no purpose.
  • The biggest virtual plot of land was sold in London for $900,000.
  • The entire game is based on blockchain gaming, which means that money invested might lead to you making your money back.
  • In-game mechanics called Legacy Keys allows players to earn a percentage of what business partners earn, but reviews have just called it a pyramid scheme.

NFT gaming was a fad that was as unappealing as it was pointless. Those types of games took away from the essence of gaming and pushed a toxic business model that culminated in mostly scams and pyramid schemes. The same thing happened with Peter Molyneux’s NFT game called Legacy, which generated dozens of millions of dollars in virtual land that no one can feasibly use.

The Fable franchise has 7 books published.

(Source: Games Industry, Fandom)

  • The book series was established sometime around 2012.
  • The publishing hours for the Fable series is Random House Worlds, founded by Critical Role members and world-class voice actors like Matt Mercer, Sam Riegel, Ashley Johnson, and Marisha Ray.
  • While Lionhead Studios was still alive and passionate about Fable, they put great pride in the Fable book series to present the story in an even better light.

It’s always nice to see video game franchises branch out into other forms of media, and the Fable series did exactly that. The Fable books are a great read with coherent and immersive stories that anyone can pick up and enjoy.

Players planted 1 million flags in Fable 3: Kingmaker in 2010.

(Source: Video Gamer)

  • Kingmaker is a companion game that works in tandem with Fable 3.
  • It worked similarly to Pokemon Go, where players can mark real-world locations and earn gold to use in Fable 3 whenever they would visit the location.
  • The game had over 60,000 players at the time.
  • There were two factions in the game — Rebels and Royals.

This is a bit random, but it’s still something nice to point out for the Fable series because of Kingmaker, a real-life interactive game where fans of the Fable franchise from all around the world were able to come together and strengthen their faction. There isn’t much more to say about Kingmaker other than it was a fantastic way to get the fans engaged with the franchise.

To sum up

Alright, that would be all we have to say about the Fable series and everything it has given to the gaming community over the last decade. The best fantasy RPG games have a grand scope, excellent storyline, and a sense of wonder that follows you throughout all of the titles. Even though Fable’s history has been far from perfect, and it has had its ups and downs, we are looking ahead to a brighter future as we expect Playground Games to create something excellent through Fable 4. We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed the content we have provided here and that you have learned something new about this legendary series.

Sources

  • “Fable (Series)”. VG Chartz, 2018, https://www.vgchartz.com/game/227013/fable/?region=All
  • “The Fable Reboot Has a Massive Weight on Its Shoulders”. GameRant, 2023, https://gamerant.com/fable-reboot-playground-games-pressure-legacy-nostalgia/
  • “Report: Fable Legends was a $75M project ‘nobody’ wanted to work on”. Polygon, 2016, https://www.polygon.com/2016/5/12/11663574/lionhead-studios-closed-fable-legends-fable-4
  • “Microsoft buys maker of ‘Fable’ Xbox game”. Macworld, 2006, https://www.macworld.com/article/179445/lionhead.html
  • “Microsoft refused to sell Fable IP – Report”. Games Industry, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/microsoft-refused-to-sell-fable-ip-report
  • “NFT Game From Fable Creator Has Already Sold $50m Of Imaginary Land”. Gamebyte, 2021, https://www.gamebyte.com/nft-game-from-fable-creator-has-already-sold-50m-of-imaginary-land/
  • “Fable Continues To Break Records As Best-Selling Game Across All Platforms In September”. Games Industry, 2004, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/fable-continues-to-break-records-as-best-selling-game-across-all-platforms-in-september
  • “Fable franchise getting book publishing deal”. Games Industry, 2012, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/fable-franchise-getting-book-publishing-deal
  • “Novels”. Fandom, 2023, https://fable.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Novels
  • “Fable The Journey devs “destroyed” by negative backlash”. Games Industry, 2012, view-source:https://www.gamesindustry.biz/fable-the-journey-devs-destroyed-by-negative-backlash
  • “One million flags planted in Fable 3 Kingmaker”. Video Gamer, 2010, https://www.videogamer.com/news/one-million-flags-planted-in-fable-3-kingmaker/