Fable Studio
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media, Virtual reality, Artificial intelligence |
| Founded | January 2018 |
| Founder | Edward Saatchi, Pete Billington |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Wolves in the Walls, The Simulation, Showrunner streaming platform |
Fable Studio is a media startup founded in January 2018 by Edward Saatchi and Pete Billington. The company focuses on virtual reality content and utilizes generative AI technology to build an AI-driven virtual environment called the Simulation, along with a streaming platform named Showrunner that creates personalized episodes.
Wolves in the Walls
Established in January 2018, Fable Studio introduced Wolves in the Walls as its premier VR experience, adapted from the children's book by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. In August 2019, the project earned a Primetime Emmy Award recognizing outstanding innovation in interactive media.
The Simulation and Showrunner
In May 2023, Fable unveiled "The Simulation," an AI-powered initiative designed to construct a virtual world inhabited by AI entities, with an ultimate objective of reaching artificial general intelligence. The official site for The Simulation is entirely fictional.
By July 2023, Fable published research on SHOW-1 (AI Showrunner), an AI system that employs autonomous agents to generate complete animated television episodes. This was showcased through unauthorized South Park episodes inspired by a storyline featuring characters interacting with ChatGPT. Founder Saatchi envisions "generative TV" platforms that empower audiences to produce and distribute their own episodes or enable creators to develop original content. Nevertheless, SHOW-1 drew significant backlash from the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, who were engaged in strikes over concerns about automation. Writer Christos Gage criticized the AI-produced episodes as lacking soul and humor, although some noted their coherent narrative framework despite the absence of comedic elements.
In June 2024, Fable announced the launch of the Showrunner streaming service, which allows users to generate and share AI-created episodes. The service will premiere with ten original series, such as Exit Valley, a satire on Silicon Valley; Ikiru Shinu, a post-apocalyptic horror anime; and Sim Francisco, an anthology set within a shared universe across multiple shows.