Perhaps one of E3 2019's biggest surprises - if you completely forget that whole Keanu Reeves thing - was the absence of and not so much as a mention of Fable 4.

The Microsoft title was one of the most anticipated E3 reveals this year, following what appeared to be a solid leak. However, fans were left both shocked and disappointed when it failed to show up as part of the company's presentation.

Since then, questions over the total omission of the game have been rife with unconfirmed explanations popping up here and there (here as in right here).

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via games.mxdwn.com

Microsoft head Phil Spencer has finally broken the company's silence on the matter (sort of), having spoken to Kotaku in a recent interview. Prompted for anything Fable-related, Spencer admitted that he wants to make sure that his team is well on track before making any announcement over the game, as well as any other titles being worked on.

"I love that Fable came to [Xbox One backwards compatibility]," he said with a laugh. "I want to make sure that when we talk about things to come, whether it’s Fable or not, that the team feels very solid about what they are doing. I will harken back to … I can go through my battle scars. Marvel MMO. Anybody remember us announcing a Marvel MMO? We didn’t even have a team that was signed that would do the Marvel MMO.

"Running a studio organization and making sure we’re talking about games at the right time, when we know what we’re trying to build - I’m not making any comment specifically about Fable; it’s about anything in the portfolio ... that we have … some idea of when it would come out" he continued.

"The thing I love about our [E3 2019] show was 60 games and the first party games - I could tell you when those all were shipping, and I can play those games, most of them here, and can put my hands on them and make promises."

So it's unlikely we'll be hearing anything about the next installment of Fable anytime soon - in an official capacity at least - based on what Spencer has said. But nowadays, we can definitely count on leaks.

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