Much to the dismay of gamers everywhere, the award-winning Lionhead Studios officially closed its doors last month, having cancelled the development of Fable Legends back in March.
“These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly,” Hanno Lemke, general manager for Microsoft Studios Europe, said in a blog post on Xbox Wire at the time, “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.”
Later in the post, Lemke said, “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.”
However, sources who spoke to Kotaku UK claim that several potential buyers were, in fact, lined up to prevent the studio’s closure during its consultation period. Kotaku UK’s report states that “some of the biggest names in video game publishing” were among the list of would-be buyers and that discussions went so far as to have letters of intent be filed.
According to a source close to Xbox, the buyout didn’t happen due to Microsoft’s unwillingness to sell the Fable IP, despite offers in the hundreds of millions. “90% of the people interested just walked away at that point,” one source told the outlet.
Does this mean a new Fable game is still a possibility in the future? We’d like to think so, though it’s also possible Microsoft chose not sell the IP simply because it doesn’t like the idea of another developer making a Fable game, a publisher other than itself releasing the title or having the series appear on a competitor’s console.
Founded by Peter Molyneux in 1996, the much-loved Lionhead Studios developed 13 published games in total over the course of its 20-year lifespan, with titles such as Milo & Kate, Fable II for PC and the aforementioned Fable Legends, among others, having been cancelled midway through their development.
Lionhead Studios will be sorely missed by many and its contribution to the gaming industry not forgotten anytime soon.
