Fable praised as 'healing' as female character 'redesign' panders to gamers

Fable has drawn attention for supposedly ‘redesigning’ its female protagonist in a move that’s been praised by a certain crowd, although there’s seemingly more to this than meets the eye.

We’re inching closer to Fable’s long-awaited release date on February 23 2027, with a major gameplay reveal set to land very soon.

On Wednesday August 26, avid fans can tune into Xbox’s Gamescom Livestream to catch a new in-depth look at Fable.

Teasing that livestream, Playground Games dropped an updated 18-second teaser for the game on Twitter/X - and it’s drawn perhaps more attention than intended.

The narrative online is that Playground Games has redesigned its main female protagonist, making her ‘prettier’ following criticism that the character wasn’t attractive enough.

You can view that teaser below, with the character visible at the nine second mark.

Fable’s fortunes are looking up, whether the move was intentional or not

“Xbox must’ve heard the fans’ feedback. The new Fable character looks way better than the old one,” read one tweet. “The only one looks like a crazy old witch.”

“They have changed the face of the female character from the first trailers making her more appealing. Looks like Asha has listened to the complaints of the fans,” added another.

Someone asked whether this means Fable is “healing”, while another account stated, “This upgrade alone will pump sales of Fable by 1 million copies.”

While it’s certainly being made to look as if Playground has pandered to a certain crowd that disowns any video game not shown to cater to idealist beauty standards, that’s most likely not at all the case.

Gamers seem to be overlooking one key thing, character customisation

You see, Fable’s protagonist is designed by the player. The title features a full customisation suite where you can cycle through skin tones, hair styles, facial features, and more - plus you can choose between a male and female protagonist.

As such, Playground Games has actually been cycling through various protagonists in its marketing materials pretty much from day one, using some more than others for continuity.

It’s simply the case that internet users aimed vitriol towards one specific character build who doesn’t seem to appear in this latest piece of marketing.

Now that itself could be a purposeful move from Playground Games or Xbox, but to say that the character has been redesigned is less true.

The character, ultimately, is what you make them.

READ MORE: Fable Pre-Order Guide: Everything Included In Each Version

It’s a difficult time for the gaming industry. Developers should be entitled to present characters as they see fit, standing by their designs.

However, times are volatile and it’s not hard to imagine why simple steps may be taken to cater to certain tastes.

Fortunately for Fable, the online narrative surrounding the game’s female protagonist looks to be complete fiction; it’s only going to work in the title’s favour though that many think otherwise.