Lionhead closing, Fable Legends cancelled
Microsoft focusing "on the games and franchises that fans find most exciting and want to play"; Press Play Studios also shutting down
Microsoft Studios today announced plans to close Lionhead Studios and Press Play Studios. Microsoft Studios Europe general manager Hanno Lemke announced the move in a post on Xbox Wire.
"After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends, and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK. Additionally, we will close Press Play Studios in Denmark, and sunset development on Project Knoxville.
"These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly, nor are they a reflection on these development teams - we are incredibly fortunate to have the talent, creativity and commitment of the people at these studios. The Lionhead Studios team has delighted millions of fans with the Fable series over the past decade. Press Play imbued the industry with a unique creative spirit behind games like Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Kalimba, which both captured passionate fans. These changes are taking effect as Microsoft Studios continues to focus its investment and development on the games and franchises that fans find most exciting and want to play."
Lemke said Microsoft would work with employees at those studios to help them find positions elsewhere with Microsoft or at other gaming companies.
Lionhead was founded in 1996 by former Bullfrog Productions developers Peter Molyneux, Mark Webley, and Tim Rance, as well as Games Workshop co-founder Steve Jackson. It's first title was the PC god game Black & White, but it would be the studio's second major release, 2004's Xbox exclusive Fable, that it would become most closely associated with.
Lionhead would go on to create a Black & White sequel and a management sim called The Movies before Microsoft acquired the studio in 2006. In the years that followed, the studio would pursue other projects (notably the cancelled Xbox 360 Kinect game Milo & Kate), but only managed to ship more Fable games.
Fable Legends was to be Lionhead's first free-to-play title, a combination of MOBA and tower defense strategy that would support cross-platform play between the Xbox One and PC. It had been announced as a 2015 release, but in late December was pushed back, with an open beta phase not even slated to begin until this spring.
Press Play was formed in Copenhagen in 2006, and acquired by Microsoft in 2012. The studio's remit was to work exclusively on its own IP, creating the Max & the Magic Marker series, the Windows mobile series Tentacles, and most recently, the Xbox One and PC game Kalimba.
Last August, Press Play ran a community initiative that would let its fans choose its next project from a selection of three concepts. The community chose Project: Knoxville, a third-person multiplayer action game inspired by movies like The Running Man and The Hunger Games.
Update: The Fable Legends beta will be closed on April 13, Lionhead has told Eurogamer, though only existing players will be able to access the game until then. Microsoft also confirmed full refunds for those who purchased in-game currency.
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Anyone looking for something new, exciting, different, we're hiring at Coconut Lizard - feel free to drop me your CV to robert.troughton@coconutlizard.co.uk
Good luck to both teams... and anyone else indirectly affected by this.
Sad days :-(
Good luck to all impacted in your search for new gigs and please do contact me at lbrown@ea.com if your are interested in any roles at EA.
Kudos to you guys for stepping up with offers of support and job positions. Nice one.
Good luck to all affected.
Still, Lionhead's staff are a very capable and talented group of people, and judging from the state of Twitter earlier, and robert's post, there are many companies and recruitment consultants eager to snap ex-Lionheadies up, so hopefully you'll all be in jobs you'll love very soon.
For anyone affected reading this and looking for new opportunities, we are on the lookout for great people http://www.dovetailgames.com/vacancies
Isn't there anyone interested in buying the company ?
Why do companies (like Microsoft) buy other companies, without a long term plan.
As usual, it smells like bad management ...
I mean, I'm realise the long term plan seems to be divest of almost all first party studios in general, but is that really all that wise given the already-evident disparity in first party talent between MS and their rivals? Maybe it doesn't matter (which makes me sad).
I guess I'm just sad to see a Microsoft that doesn't seem to want to be in the business of acquiring and cultivating first-class in house game talent anymore (one or two notable exceptions aside).
If I was at Rare I'd be feeling pretty nervous, as well :-(
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Nick McCrea on 7th March 2016 8:27pm
I really hope the talents and skills do not go to waste. God speed!
Peter - you will always be an inspiration to so many of us.
Anything we can do here at NaturalMotion to help, please do reach out to me - we have many opportunities and would be honoured to assist in finding new homes for affected individuals.
All the best.
As for Microsoft not selling the company, why would they? It is probably not their style to think for one moment that a division might do better under the management of another company. Even if Microsoft assumed such a thing, it is probably not their style to give presents to other companies by selling a subdivision. Be competitive, scorch the earth.
If anyone is looking for a new challenge in Barcelona we are hiring at Digital Legends.
If you are interested check out our job page: http://digital-legends.com/jobs.html
Feel free to contact us.
jobs@digital-legends.com
Edited 2 times. Last edit by Jordi on 9th March 2016 5:00pm