Peter Molyneux, the man at the head of Fable development firm Lionhead Studios, has left his position as head of games co. he founded, as well as his role as Microsoft’s Creative Director of Microsoft’s Game Studio.
52 year-old, British-born Molyneux will now be concentrating his efforts on something “really amazing, scary and brave” as he announced on Twitter the news his new company, called 22 Cans. The recipient of an OBE and designed behind games such as Syndicate and Black & White also told a fellow tech site in an interview that “It is with mixed emotions that I made the decision to leave Microsoft and Lionhead Studios, the company that I co-founded in 1997”.
“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.” – says Molyneux.
You may remember a few occasions in which Peter Molyneux and Lionshead had dropped hints of the existence of a new Microsoft Xbox follow-up console – a gaming gadget which Microsoft is keen to keep quiet about. Firstly Molyneux spoke of a “top secret project” that his company were developing software for and most recently Lionhead posted a job listing on the Microsoft Talent forum requesting an experienced programmer to help work on a new title which would utilise the DirectX 11 API (Application Programming Interface) – something not included in the current Xbox 360. So, something is definitely in the pipeline and Lionhead has let this information slip into the public domain.
This is just food for thought and we don’t mean to whip up any speculation, but it is an interesting time for veteran games designer Peter Molyneux to entirely part ways with Microsoft – Particularly just before a possible new console launch.
The now former Lionhead boss will continue to oversee work on the new Fable: The Journey, a Kinect-based title, as his final act with the computing giant and Microsoft praises Molyneux’s creative talents with some parting words: “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.”
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Quote Source: Kotaku