VGC Podcast Claims Fable Could Launch Day and Date on PS5 While Forza Horizon 6 May Arrive Later Because It Was Not Ready

Playground Games is shaping up to be the centerpiece of Xbox Developer Direct 2026, with Microsoft promising a deep dive on Forza Horizon 6 and a major gameplay focused update on the long awaited Fable reboot when the show airs on January 22, 2026. Officially, both titles remain announced only for PC and Xbox Series S and X, but Microsoft’s multiplatform direction has made one question unavoidable: how quickly do these two flagship Playground releases expand to PlayStation 5.

A new rumor from the latest episode number 154 of the VGC podcast claims the two games may not follow the same PlayStation strategy. VGC’s Andy Robinson said he has been told Fable is targeting a day and date launch on PlayStation 5, while Forza Horizon 6 is expected to arrive later because the PS5 version simply was not ready at the time of planning.

Robinson’s comments frame Fable as the more locked in multiplatform play, with him saying he would expect it to be day and date because the team has been targeting PlayStation 5 for a while. At the same time, he also acknowledges the fragility of insider details, noting that timing plans can change very close to release. That matters because day and date multiplatform launches carry a very different set of certification, marketing, and operational requirements than a staggered rollout, and those are exactly the kinds of variables that can shift late if the product needs more time.

Forza Horizon 6, by contrast, is described as the one that did not line up for an immediate PS5 release. Robinson says the explanation he heard from someone who was present is that it just was not ready. Whether that is purely technical readiness, production scheduling, or a strategic sequencing decision, the core idea is the same: Playground did not want to delay the core launch simply to align every platform on day one.

That logic tracks with recent market evidence where staggered releases still deliver outsized results. Forza Horizon 5’s PlayStation 5 launch in April 2025 demonstrated that a late port can still hit hard with the PS audience, especially when the product already has strong word of mouth and a proven content pipeline. In the podcast discussion, Robinson also points to Indiana Jones The Great Circle performing strongly on PS5 after launching elsewhere first, reinforcing the idea that a delayed release does not automatically reduce impact if the game is high profile and arrives in a strong state.

From a strategy standpoint, this rumored split approach also aligns with the different roles these games play in Microsoft’s portfolio. Forza Horizon is a scale machine and would likely benefit from a PS5 launch, but it also has to land on PC and Xbox in a polished, content rich state because it will carry a massive first wave audience. Fable, on the other hand, is the kind of narrative driven tentpole that benefits disproportionately from a unified global launch narrative, where platform parity boosts visibility, review volume, and community conversation all at once.

None of this is confirmed, and both games still lack firm dates. But the timing of this rumor is not random, because Xbox Developer Direct 2026 is positioned as the moment where Microsoft will show gameplay and provide deeper clarity on what these projects actually are in final form. If Xbox follows the pattern of previous Developer Direct events, January 22 is also the most likely venue for release windows and potentially concrete launch dates, which would immediately validate or contradict the rumored platform sequencing.

If the rumor proves accurate, the practical expectation becomes a staggered rollout where Forza Horizon 6 launches first on PC and Xbox with PlayStation 5 following after the port is ready, while Fable aims for broader platform availability at launch. For gamers, the takeaway is that Microsoft’s multiplatform strategy may not always be uniform even inside the same studio, and readiness might be the deciding factor more often than policy.

If Fable launches day and date on PS5 but Forza Horizon 6 arrives later, which approach do you prefer for Xbox’s multiplatform strategy: ship everywhere at once for maximum reach, or prioritize the best launch state on core platforms and bring ports later?