14 DAY TRIAL // Peter Molyneux, the current leader of the Lionhead development team, has stated that he is leaving the company in order to move to a new developer called 22 Cans, and some fans have worried about the impact that the move will have on the Fable series.
Two former developers of the franchise, which has so far been exclusive to the Xbox 360, say that Fable can survive without Molyneux, although it will miss its leadership and vision.
Simon Carter, who is currently working at Another Place Productions and worked on the original Fable, told Eurogamer that, “Peter was super passionate about Fable: The Journey, so when we heard he was leaving Lionhead it came as a complete surprise. However he’s leaving behind an awesome team who are capable of amazing things, so we know his baby is in safe hands.”
James Duncan, who worked on both Fable II and III and is now with Redbreast, added, “It’s a big loss for the company. As a figurehead and as a source of creativity, it was great to have someone like him on your side.
“However, Lionhead still has a lot of very talented and inspiring people. I think gamers will be really interested to see what they can come up with post Peter.”
Peter Molyneux is now working on Fable: The Journey, a spin-off from the core series, which will be linked to the Kinect motion tracking system and will be more guided than the core titles in the series.
It is not clear whether Microsoft and Lionhead are currently also working on Fable IV or the focus in now on pushing new Microsoft technology to the already existing player base.
Fable has mixed role-playing with straight up action and has managed to create a dedicated following for the fantasy world of Albion.