Lionhead Studios, the designers behind the Xbox classic Fable, Black & White and business simulator The Movies, is set to shut up doors in the coming days.
Lionhead, which was formerly led by Peter Molyneux, was acquired by Microsoft Studios in 2006 for an undisclosed sum. It was widely reported that, before Microsoft's acquisition, the financial situation in Lionhead was extremely dire.
A statement released by Microsoft announced both the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios and the cancellation of Fable: Legends, which had been intended to be a cross-platform game across Windows 10 and Xbox One. Not only that, the game's trailer featured the voice talents of Lena Headey and debuted to rapturous acclaim at E3 in 2015.
The statement by Microsoft said that "...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."
It's a real shame as Fable: Legends looked like it had a lot of promise, calling back to the likes of the original Fable and its sequel, Fable 2.
Here's that trailer for Fable: Legends for E3 2015.
