Microsoft shuttered Lionhead Studios and announced the cancellation of Fable Legends a couple of months ago. The studio received a public outpouring of support, with many gamers expressing their disappointment and sadness over the end of the Fable series of RPGs.
Today, it was revealed via Kotaku UK that “several potential buyers,” had stepped forward to express an interest in buying both the Fable franchise and Lionhead. According to the report, the names included “some of the biggest names in video game publishing,” which approached both Microsoft and Lionhead before the studio was shut down. These talks did not result in any agreements.
“The discussions were not just ephemeral: letters of intent were reportedly filed,” Kotaku UK reported.
According to the publication’s inside sources, the parties who offered to buy the franchise and the studio had offered “hundreds of millions” for both. The publication stated that it would have been difficult for any prospective buyer to want to purchase one without the other.
“Without ownership of the IP, any company that bought Lionhead would have to publish new Fable games (or Fable Legends, if it had been salvaged) under a licensing agreement with Microsoft–not a favorable condition for anyone looking to make money from the franchise.”
Now that the studio is closed, Microsoft has yet to announce what it plans to do with the Fable franchise. We’ll keep you up to date as we find out more.
