Lionhead Studios co-founder and Fable creator Peter Molyneux is exiting his positions as Lionhead boss and Microsoft creative head for a yet-to-be-announced independent venture, he has said today.
“It is with mixed emotions that I made the decision to leave Microsoft and Lionhead Studios, the company that I co-founded in 1997, at the conclusion of development of Fable: The Journey,” Molyneux told Kotaku.
“I remain extremely passionate and proud of the people, products and experiences that we created, from Black & White to Fable to our pioneering work with Milo and Kate for the Kinect platform. However, I felt the time was right to pursue a new independent venture. I’d like to thank the team at Lionhead, as well as our partners at Microsoft Studios for their support, dedication and incredible work over the years.”
In a statement, Microsoft wished Molyneux the best of luck on his new venture.
“As co-founder of Lionhead and an integral part of Microsoft Studios, Peter was the creative visionary behind the blockbuster Fable franchise, and one of our most passionate and influential developers for the Xbox 360 platform. He has made an indelible mark on the games industry and we wish him all the best of luck in his future endeavors.”
Until its completion, Molyneux will serve as a creative consultant on Fable: The Journey, due for Xbox 360 Kinect later this year.
Update: It looks like Moylneux’s yet-to-be-announced venture has been announced. Peter Molyneux tweeted today, “I have left the lovely amazing Microsoft and Lionhead. Now for something really amazing, scary and brave a new company called 22 Cans.”
As pointed out by The Verge, the e-mail listed under the company’s domain name – 22Cans.com – was once registered to a “tim.rance” address, but has since been changed to a@b.com. Tim Rance helped co-found Lionhead Studios back in 1997.
Now hopefully he’ll start to make good games again.
@chinglee:
OMG, Thank you. He made gold back in the days of Bullfrog, but ever since Fable… I’ve been wishing he’d just get off that silly kick and go back to making good games.
With Bullfrog: Populous, Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper, and Theme Hospital (one of the best sims I have ever played).
22 Cans? That name sounds pretty weird. I was never a big fan of him.
I personally love Peter Molyneux and am genuinely sad to see him leave Lionehead and MS. I will await whatever 22 Cans creates with a great deal of interest.
Well this can’t be good news to Fable fans.
This guy has made more empty and unfulfilled promises than Obama. Can’t say I care what happens to him honestly.
I agree with Malcolm about the empty promises.
My advice for him is simple, stay away from the media.
I think the man has talent, and he has made some great games in the past.
Over the years, he has gotten into this bad habit, and it really has pissed off lots of people.
I can somewhat understand where he is coming from with this, but the team and the game suffers for it.
I’m all for hyping up a new game, but stick to the facts. The fans at home often times purchase the game before it launches because of those features, the ones you made up.
One can only imagine how they would be upset when they find that a handful of features you promised are not in the game.
When you do this over several years, then your reputation is going to take a hit, and as a domino effect, so will the entire team.
The solution I mentioned above is simple, just work on the games and let the team do the talking.
And when you do talk about the game, write down information you can reveal at the time on a card or something, and stick to it.
Focus on the games and fans, not the media. Get us excited for the game, by sticking to the features that what will actually be in it.
Good luck, Mr. Molyneux.