Fable free-to-play card game in development, coming to Kickstarter

We haven't heard the last of the Fable series, apparently. With Microsoft killing Fable Legends and closing Lionhead, we we're wondering how long it would be before we heard about another game in this franchise. It looks like there was already one in development for 18 months, according to IGN.

Fable Fortune is a free-to-play card game by new indie developer Flaming Fowl Studios, which was co-founded by Lionhead veterans. Microsoft allowed the studio to continue using the Fable license, but the devs now need the money to fulfill the project, and that's why a Kickstarter page will launch tomorrow, Tuesday May 31 at 3pm BST / 10am ET / 7am PT. The goal is £250,000, which roughly amounts to $365,000 USD. The studio plans to have a Fable Fortune closed beta a few weeks after the end of the campaign, an October open beta on PC and Xbox One and a full launch early 2017.

Fable Fortune is obviously going to draw comparisons to Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, but the art style is clearly more detailed and lively than in Blizzard's hit game. It uses characters, locations and even some jokes from the Fable series, something that will please fans who are desperately waiting for a proper Fable 4, after the misfires of Fable: The Journey and Fable Heroes.

Proper development began in 2014 with the help of developer Mediatonic, but the concept was pitched eight years ago to be a part of Fable 2 – probably in the same way that the card game Gwent is now making waves in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

You can read more about Fable Fortune at IGN and watch the first gameplay video below, a full match of PvP.