Why did Anthropic just extend free access to Claude Fable 5 again, and what happens after?

Anthropic has extended access to Claude Fable 5 for paid subscribers until July 19 after facing backlash from its user base. In a quiet update to its support documentation, Anthropic is extending free access to Claude Fable 5 for paid subscribers until July 19, 2026, skipping the pay-per-use model for another week.

Originally slated to adopt a separate usage-credit paywall from July 7, Fable 5’s free tier was originally extended to July 12, and has now been pushed back once more. For Anthropic, however,