Kotaku reported earlier today that Peter Molyneux, the designer behind the Dungeon Keeper, Black & White, and Fable series, will be leaving Lionhead and Microsoft Studios for a recent start-up known as 22 Cans. More details after the break.
Molyneux co-founded Lionhead Studios in 1997, and became the Creative Director for European studios at Microsoft in 2009. Though he is leaving Lionhead Studios, he will remain attached to the studios’ current title, Fable: The Journey, as a consultant.
Following the departure of Molyneux, Lionhead Studios will be headed by Mark Webley, one of the remaining co-founders. Microsoft has yet to announce a new creative director for its European studios, which includes Lionhead itself and Rare Ltd.
Molyneux has confirmed on Twitter that he will be moving to a newly-established studio known as 22 Cans. No information regarding this studio is available at this time, and it is currently unknown if any other industry veterans are involved in this venture.
Though Molyneux has worked on many classic titles, he has also received a lot of critism for his over-ambitious plans that fail to come fruition. How do you Elder Geeks view his departure from Lionhead with regards to the future of the Fable franchise or Lionhead Studios as a whole?
I wish him the best in his new studio, but I hope he delivers on a lot of the promises that he makes.
As for Lionhead and Fable, I would like to see them go back to the mechanics of Fable.