Peter Molyneux’s Lionhead Studios joins the likes of Bungie, Rare, and Ensemble at Microsoft Game Studios.
Following weeks of speculation, Microsoft today confirmed that it has purchased Lionhead Studios for an undisclosed sum. Best known for its Black & White and Fable series, the Guildford-based studio headed up by Peter Molyneux will now develop exclusively for the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms.
“We could not be more excited about being part of Microsoft Game Studios. They have long supported our creative vision, and this teamwork resulted in the hugely successful Fable franchise,” said Molyneux, managing director of Lionhead Studios. “This acquisition gives Lionhead the stability and opportunity to focus on creating world-class next-generation titles. We are joining some of the most incredible game creators in the industry, the combined talent of which will truly take next-generation gaming to a new level.”
It’s been an eventful year thus far for Lionhead Studios. The company was rumored to be the subject of a bidding war between Microsoft and Ubisoft earlier this year, had its console versions of The Movies canceled by Activision, and is currently believed to be working on only two games with a staff that’s some 50 bodies lighter than it was a couple of months ago. We’ll bring you more information on Lionhead Studios’ upcoming games as soon as it becomes available.
– Gamespot
This is great news for us Fable fans. Lionhead will now have the time, money and the technology to create an amazing sequel. I greatly enjoyed the first Fable game, even though they did not make good on some of their earlier ideas (mostly due to technology and money issues). But with those out of the way now, I can’t imagine what they will be able to do. This is pretty exciting news.