Fable Legends Cancelled; Lionhead Possibly Closed

<p>There has been some bad news for <em>Fable<&sol;em> fans coming from across the pond&period; It looks like Microsoft is planning to shut down the iconic Lionhead Studios and has cancelled their recent title <em>Fable&colon; Legends&comma;<&sol;em> which had recently entered an open beta<em>&period;<&sol;em> Microsoft said this in a recent press release&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote><p>After much consideration we have decided to cease development on <em>Fable Legends<&sol;em>&comma; and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK&period; Additionally&comma; we will close Press Play Studios in Denmark&comma; and sunset development on <em>Project Knoxville<&sol;em>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly&comma; nor are they a reflection on these development teams – we are incredibly fortunate to have the talent&comma; creativity and commitment of the people at these studios&period; The Lionhead Studios team has delighted millions of fans with the <em>Fable<&sol;em> series over the past decade&period; Press Play imbued the industry with a unique creative spirit behind games like <em>Max&colon; The Curse of Brotherhood<&sol;em> and <em>Kalimba<&sol;em>&comma; which both captured passionate fans&period; 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&period;<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<figure style&equals;"width&colon; 1812px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i&period;gyazo&period;com&sol;7aabaacbe3bb7f207bd25c0e5439ce8e&period;jpg" alt&equals;"fable legends" width&equals;"1812" height&equals;"1018" &sol;><figcaption class&equals;"wp-caption-text">&lpar;Fable Legends&comma; Microsoft Studios&rpar;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>In the United Kingdom&comma; a company cannot close a business without first attempting to find employment for the staff&period; Lionhead Studios will remain open for approximately 45 more days so that Microsoft can search for other developers within the studio to employ those affected&period; While this announcement saddens me greatly&comma; I do like the fact that Microsoft is responsible for finding future employment for these people&period; It also saddens me that they&&num;8217&semi;re closing a studio that has been around since 1996 because of the amazing mind of Peter Molyneux&period; The games that came from Lionhead Studios &&num;8212&semi;<em> Black and White<&sol;em>&comma; <em>Fable<&sol;em>&comma; and <em>The Movies<&sol;em> &&num;8212&semi; will all be remembered as classics&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Hopefully&comma; Microsoft will not abandon its 4 player co-op jaunt with <em>Fable Legends<&sol;em> and simply pass it onto another development team&period; Personally&comma; I enjoyed what I got out of the beta&comma; albeit I wasn&&num;8217&semi;t a fan of the multiplayer&period; I loved the world that Molyneux had created&comma; and I always want to spend as much time in it as possible&period; The cancellation of <em>Fable Legends<&sol;em> is a huge blow to <em>Fable<&sol;em> fans and western role playing games in general&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Source&colon; <&sol;strong><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;news&period;xbox&period;com&sol;2016&sol;03&sol;07&sol;microsoft-studios-changes-uk-denmark&sol;">Microsoft Press Release<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;