Chicken chasers rejoice and / or panic: Fable Legends will be free-to-play. Lionhead Studios has outlined how its upcoming online adventure, which pits a team of four adventurers against a lone creature-and-trap-commanding villain, will be 'open, fair, and generous' as it makes use of the microtransaction-driven payment model.
First off, you'll always have access to four free heroes at any given time. Much like League of Legends, this lineup of heroes will rotate through the full roster at regular intervals, giving players access to new characters and locking old ones up again. All of your progress with any given hero will remain until the next time it enters the rotation, or until you decide to buy it with earned Silver or purchased Gold.
You'll also be able to spend Silver or Gold on customization options for your character, ranging from new gear to new outfits and faces. Some outfits will require a cash purchase, but Lionhead says all gameplay-affecting items can be unlocked simply through playing the game. You'll find plenty of treasure in the course of your adventures.
Villains, meanwhile, get access to a free pool of monsters which are native to the region of any given quest. If you want to bring in monsters (or traps or gates) from further abroad, you'll need to purchase them with either kind of currency. All quests and storylines will be free to play for both sides.
One thing isn't free, though: you'll still need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play on Xbox One.
