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Lionhead Studios and Press Play closed. Fable legends cancelled.

C

chadskin

Member
Today, I have some difficult changes to announce that affect some of our Microsoft Studios teams and projects in the UK and Denmark.

After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends, and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK. Additionally, we will close Press Play Studios in Denmark, and sunset development on Project Knoxville.

These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly, 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. Press Play imbued the industry with a unique creative spirit behind games like Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Kalimba, which both captured passionate fans. 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.

I speak for all of Xbox when I say that despite this news, we remain committed to the development communities in the UK and Europe, and Xbox will continue to support new IP and originality in the games we offer on our platforms, whether they’re AAA blockbusters like Quantum Break from Remedy, adventurous new IPs like Sea of Thieves from Rare, or unique new creations from independent developers like Moon Studios with Ori.

We have nothing but heart-felt thanks for the members of Lionhead and Press Play for their contributions to Xbox and gaming. We are committed to working closely with those affected by today’s news to find them new opportunities at Xbox, or partnering with the broader development community to help place them in jobs elsewhere in the games industry should they desire.
Click to expand...
http://news.xbox.com/2016/03/07/microsoft-studios-changes-uk-denmark/

Update:

StealthPandemic said:
So apparently 8 studios have been removed from MicrosoftStudios.com (though it may not mean anything really).

https://twitter.com/VG_Dave/status/706957781417533440


Big Park - Kinect Games

Good Science - Kinect + Hololens Games

FUNction - Hololens Games

SOTA - Hololens Games

Team Dakota - Project Spark

Lionshead - Fable

Press Play - Mobile Games

Leap Experience Pioneers - Hololens most likely, couldve been Kinect
Click to expand...
 
H

Hanmik

Member
http://news.xbox.com/2016/03/07/mic...enmark/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Today, I have some difficult changes to announce that affect some of our Microsoft Studios teams and projects in the UK and Denmark.

After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends, and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK. Additionally, we will close Press Play Studios in Denmark, and sunset development on Project Knoxville.

These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly, 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. Press Play imbued the industry with a unique creative spirit behind games like Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Kalimba, which both captured passionate fans. 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.

I speak for all of Xbox when I say that despite this news, we remain committed to the development communities in the UK and Europe, and Xbox will continue to support new IP and originality in the games we offer on our platforms, whether they’re AAA blockbusters like Quantum Break from Remedy, adventurous new IPs like Sea of Thieves from Rare, or unique new creations from independent developers like Moon Studios with Ori.

We have nothing but heart-felt thanks for the members of Lionhead and Press Play for their contributions to Xbox and gaming. We are committed to working closely with those affected by today’s news to find them new opportunities at Xbox, or partnering with the broader development community to help place them in jobs elsewhere in the games industry should they desire.
Click to expand...

lock if old.
 
P

PranooY

Member
Changes at Microsoft Studios, UK and Denmark

Today, I have some difficult changes to announce that affect some of our Microsoft Studios teams and projects in the UK and Denmark.

After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends, and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK. Additionally, we will close Press Play Studios in Denmark, and sunset development on Project Knoxville.

These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly, 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. Press Play imbued the industry with a unique creative spirit behind games like Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Kalimba, which both captured passionate fans. 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.

I speak for all of Xbox when I say that despite this news, we remain committed to the development communities in the UK and Europe, and Xbox will continue to support new IP and originality in the games we offer on our platforms, whether they’re AAA blockbusters like Quantum Break from Remedy, adventurous new IPs like Sea of Thieves from Rare, or unique new creations from independent developers like Moon Studios with Ori.

We have nothing but heart-felt thanks for the members of Lionhead and Press Play for their contributions to Xbox and gaming. We are committed to working closely with those affected by today’s news to find them new opportunities at Xbox, or partnering with the broader development community to help place them in jobs elsewhere in the games industry should they desire.
Click to expand...

Lock, if old.
 
E

eFKac

Member
Wut?

That's a big surprise, some Xbox fans around here said that the closed beat was pretty polished and supposedly game was good.
 
A

Alienous

Member
Lol

I hope those displaced find work elsewhere, obviously.

edit:
This reads worse than intended. It was a "Haha, what?" lol.
 
B

BiggNife

Member
Holy shit, didn't see that one coming.

Can't say I was particularly excited for Fable Legends but it looked pretty far along. Shocked they're just canning it.
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
What?

Even with the studio closing I would imagine MS trying to keep Fable Legends alive.

What state was the game in?
 
N

Napalm_Frank

Member
I remember Brandon Jones (?) from GT playing this like a year ago and saying it was basically complete and not half bad. Weird they wouldn't release it.
 
M

Mr. Smiley

Member
Woooooow, did not expect that. Shit, I was one of those kooks that loved Fable 2.

Fake edit: Yeah, my condolences to those out there that lost their jobs.
 
Salz01

Salz01

Member
Is this true? Holy shit if true. But can't say that I'm surprised. I'm sure Legends wasn't going to be that great. They haven't shown anything on it for what seems like a year.
 
1

10k

Banned
Whoa. That's unexpected.


That's a lot of jobs gone.

Was fable really doing that badly in development?
 
B

backflip10019

Member
Wait, what? That's insane.

The beta was being updated pretty much every few weeks. It felt like almost a complete game, with microtransactions and everything.
 
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