Fable Legends is free-to-play on PC and Xbox One, Lionhead reveals

Lionhead has just announced that Fable Legends, the PC and Xbox One cross-platform title is going to be free-to-play on both platforms. It will be exclusive to Windows 10 PC and Xbox One with Xbox Live Gold, however.

Fable Legends is an Unreal Engine 4-powered four versus one online multiplayer game similar to Evolve, but with a MOBA twist, League of Legends and SMITE style, since it will contain hero rotation every two weeks. When the hero is off the rotation, players will have to pay for the character, either with in-game currency or real money. The good news is that when the hero reappears on the roster, the experience and items will also be carried over. For those who wish to play as the villain, you'll be able to use a selection of free minions for each map, but if you want non-native minions you'll have to purchase them, also with in-game currency or real money.

Lionhead promises the game will be fair though, and that they want players to really love it and purchase items just as a thank you for the hard work the development team placed in it. The game will be entirely free-to-play, Lionhead stated, with no areas behind pay walls or time limits. Fable Legends director David Eckelberry told Eurogamer that it will take players around 14 days to earn enough in-game silver to buy a hero, which sounds reasonable.

Chests, however, will probably be subject to some ranting. These can be found during normal gameplay and come in three tiers, each guaranteeing a specific quality of randomised items such as weapons, armor, potions and silver, as well as other items. But you can also buy chests in town using in-game currency or real money. Eckelberry says it won't turn the game in pay-to-win since players are encouraged to search for the chests, as these have a better chance of dropping a rare item that won't be available in the chests that you can buy in Brightlodge, the town.

We'll see how it turns out when Fable Legends releases later this year on PC and Xbox One. The official site has a lot of information and you can already sign up for the closed beta.