Michael Beckwith 
Peter Molyneux announced his next project, Masters of Albion, a new open-world god game set in the world of Albion, but how can it be related to Fable when he’s no longer with Xbox or Microsoft?
Molyneux’s reveal at Gamescom 2024 quickly raised some eyebrows. While the legendary game dev is credited as the creator of Fable, the IP is currently owned by Microsoft Game Studios with a new release in the works. Molyneux left Lionhead Studios, the original Fable development studio, in 2012, meaning he’s had no involvement with the Fable games since then.
Yet, in an IGN interview, Molyneux made it clear that Masters of Albion’s setting isn’t a different Albion. It’s meant to be the exact same Albion the Fable games are set in. So, does this make Masters of Albion a Fable game by association, and how is Molyneux able to do this without any approval from Microsoft?
Is Masters of Albion a Fable sequel?
Masters of Albion is not a Fable sequel, but it shares the same setting and themes.
Microsoft isn’t involved with the project in any way, with the game in development at Molyneux’s privately owned studio 22cans. Plus, Molyneux himself has stressed that his game otherwise has no connection to the Fable series.
So, did Molyneux need to ask Microsoft permission to use Albion as the setting for his next game? According to Molyneux himself, no.
When asked about the legality of the “Masters of Albion” name, Molyneux stated that “Albion” isn’t a name made up for the Fable games. He states it’s an alternative name for Great Britain used in texts dating back to the sixth century BC.
Fable also isn’t the only game to make use of the name. There was a 1995 fantasy RPG called Albion, which is set on a planet of the same name, and there’s an ongoing MMORPG titled Albion Online. Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy series even has an island nation called Albion. As such, Molyneux has argued that one can’t copyright Albion.
“It’s the name for England and Wales and that’s how we get away with it…[It’s] like saying if you set a game in America, you can’t set any other game in America,” Molyneux stated.
Microsoft hasn’t taken any sort of aggressive legal action to protect the “Albion” name, but he acknowledges he doesn’t know if he’s safe.
For the time being, there are no signs of Microsoft taking legal action against Molyneux.
A new Fable is still in development at Playground Games, and will mark the first mainline entry since 2010’s Fable 3. It is currently scheduled for a 2025 launch, although there have been reports claiming it won’t arrive until the end of the year.
