Fable III PC to launch on Steam and GFWL

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 21 April, 2011

Pre-order bonuses revealed.

The PC version of Lionhead role-playing game Fable III will launch on Steam and Games for Windows Live, Microsoft has announced.

Pre-orders begin today. Those who do so through GFWL receive Fable: Lost Chapters for free.

Those who pre-order through Steam get the Rebel's Weapon & Tattoo Pack, a collection of four weapons and five tattoo sets.

The game goes on sale on 20th May digitally and in shops. All three versions include the game add-ons released for the Xbox 360 version, as well the new hardcore mode and 3D functionality.

Other areas altered for the May release include a redesigned user interface that feels "a little bit more mouse-specific". Lionhead has also eradicated a number of Fable III bugs and lowered the item collection requirements for Achievements.

"Our hope is that people who pick up [Fable III] on PC think, 'Okay, this plays how I would expect it to play, it doesn't play like a half-done port,' which is the danger for PC games," lead designer Josh Atkins has said.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #1 1 year ago

    Good to see that even MS wont sink one of there own games by making it GFWL only.

  • Bennicus #2 1 year ago

    Good old Games for Stupid Bastard Windows Shitting Live.

  • Eraysor #3 1 year ago

    You silly people MS, you claimed that it'd be exclusive to GFWL before today, so I bought a preowned copy of the 360 version. Try not to change your mind in future if you want my money! I would have bought the PC version if I knew it was coming to Steam.

  • chaywa #4 1 year ago

    Yeah great idea releasing it just before the Witcher 2 Microsoft. You know, that great Action RPG which your game isn't.

  • Kami #5 1 year ago

    Let's just hope the PC version isn't as broken as the 360 one was, eh?

    I would be tempted, but if I had that game engine slowdown on my rig, I would demand Lionhead Studios staff be fired. Out of a cannon. Into the sun. At gunpoint. By a herd of military-trained cattle.

    I already hate them enough for their lazy-ass rush job in November... I really don't need any more ammunition...

  • DozyKipper #6 1 year ago

    Hopefully this means we will see some other MS stuff like Halo, Halo 2, Gears of War, Viva Pinata, Freelancer, Age of Empires, Age of Mythology appear on Steam.

  • RodHull #7 1 year ago

    Fable 3 was probably the most fun I had in a game last year. I'm bewildered by the amount of hate towards it.

  • cianchristopher #8 1 year ago

    Just to clarify - the Steam version will have Games for Windows LIVE embedded into it. Just like the 20 or 30 other games on Steam that have it (e.g. GTA IV, Bioshock 2, Dawn of War 2, Street Fighter IV, etc. etc. etc.)

  • NeonKitten #9 1 year ago

    @Eraysor - you think that's bad, well, I heard Microsoft saying the same thing, presumed it'd never be on Steam and ordered a *brand new* 360 copy from the UK a week ago! Grr. I'll still buy it on Steam I guess, but why the sucky pre-order bonus for Steam users while GFWL victims get a whole extra Fable game, Microsoft?

  • uzivatel #10 1 year ago

    @NeonKitten: Whats the problem? 360 collectors edition with DLCs seems to be cheaper than the PC version...

  • Xeopuppy #11 1 year ago

    Just checked on Steam, Fable III not available in the UK yet, maybe when Steam updates around 6:00pm tonight.

  • Lord_Gremlin #12 1 year ago

    Speaking of porting... System requirements show it all. A port of 360 game should run well on 5 year old PC.

  • JamieR #13 1 year ago

    Oh cools now add black and white 2 onto steam

  • immateriaux #14 1 year ago

    "Our hope is that people who pick up [Fable III] on PC think, 'Okay, this plays how I would expect it to play, it doesn't play like a half-done port."

    Well, from our side, that's a basic expectation not a "hope"

  • WinterSnowblind #15 1 year ago

    @chaywa
    To be fair, the two are very different games. The Witcher is a very serious and deep RPG.. Fable is more similar to Zelda, it's an action/adventure game with some very lite-RPG elements. If it's the choice between one or the other, then it's obvious which you should go for. But I've always found the Fable games to be very relaxing and fun to play.

    Don't think I'd pay full price for this one though, especially since you can get it for almost nothing on the 360 at this point.

  • twh104 #16 1 year ago

    Microsoft's first full PC game since Gears 1 in November 2007!

  • rayscoota #17 1 year ago

    What a poor deal on gfwl, at least I would have expected fable2 free rather than a game you can get for peanuts.
    Poor microsoft very poor

  • Yodith #18 1 year ago

    It's nice to see Microsoft finally putting a game on Steam but that won't be enough to stop Fable III from being the rancid pile of horse manure that it was on 360.
    Edited by Yodith at 21/04/11 @ 21:03

  • Mister-Wario #19 1 year ago

    I'm really surprised it's coming to Steam. I'd imagine Microsoft would want to keep it GFWL exclusive.

  • Darren #20 1 year ago

    I've had my copy of Fable III on pre-order from GAME since last year and see no reason to change it for a download-only version. I already have Fable and although Steam is selling the game at the same £30 price as GAME (for a change!), I'd much rather have a disc, manual and case than a few bits of useless DLC.

  • Haunted_Tree #21 1 year ago

    Can't make a bad game good ...

  • Murton #22 1 year ago

    And Fable 2 is coming out when?

  • uzivatel #23 1 year ago

    @twh104: according to internet Viva Pinata was released one week later

  • Boomerang #24 1 year ago

    @Lord_Gremlin
    "Speaking of porting... System requirements show it all. A port of 360 game should run well on 5 year old PC. "

    Someone's not played GTA IV on the PC...

  • Inmediasress #25 1 year ago

    Well M$ probably realised that steam has more success than then live market place or whatever that shit is.
    They probably think this way they will sucker in more people to buy that game which will still have gfwl poisoning.
    What I don't understand is why? Why in the name of everythign that is PC gaming is this late port of a game on PC?
    M$ should know very well they won't make mega bucks on this and if this is an attempt to justify their so called push for PC gaming than I don't think I would be so proud, in their shoes that my flagship for PC is a really late port of game, that by know probably lost all its shine and is a prime example of a wii game for 5 year old kids.

  • Kerome #26 1 year ago

    Oh c'mon, Fable 3 on 360 was fine. Even I finished the thing, without running into any real bugs.

    Tho I have to say, the sloppy gameplay tuning in that series has always annoyed me. Waaay too little tension in the gameplay.

  • Spekingur #27 1 year ago

    * No worldwide pre-orders. Yet.
    Just like Section 8: Prejudice, Operation Flashpoint: Red River and Dirt 3.

    If you are not going to release games worldwide on Steam then why bother?