Fable III Going Episodic

Fable III will be getting the same episodic approach as its predecessor after release, with Lionhead's forthcoming game to be made available in chapters.

Fable II adopted a similar model, and again Lionhead will be offering up the first hour of its game for free.

"Soon after the retail launch we're doing episodic," said Molyneux at today's GameHorizon conference, where Gamesindustry.biz was busy jotting down notes.

"We break it down in chapters. We give away the first chapter entirely free, the first hour. When you reach a certain point in the game it says 'thank you for playing the pilot of Fable 3, do you want to spend an extra 2-5 or whatever dollars to buy the next episode, or buy the whole lot?' Press 'yes' and you will immediately continue playing."

Molyneux told IGN at this year's E3 that he was keen to pursue the episodic approach, but that it was a low priority coming up to Fable III's launch this October - so it may well be implemented some time after release.

The episodic delivery is part of an attempt to get the sales needed to make the game a success. "We are driving to sell more than five million units and to make a profit in excess of $150 million," said Molyneux, "We have to do that because if a franchise doesn't reach that level it will inevitably wither."

Fable III impressed us when we got our first chance to play it at E3 – read our impressions and look forward to seeing more on the game very soon.