I’ll begin with Microsoft’s official statement: “We can confirm that after much consideration over the six week consultation period with Lionhead employees, we have reached the decision to close Lionhead Studios. We have nothing but heart-felt thanks for the team at Lionhead for their significant contributions to Xbox and the games industry.” Say what you will about Peter Molyneux and his lofty promises, or about Fable Legends and the questionable direction Lionhead was taking the franchise; we can all agree that Lionhead was a studio founded by a dreamer and staffed by dreamers. In our industry, that’s about the highest accolade you can bestow.
I’m of course very sad to see Lionhead go under, but not nearly as sad as the developers and employees who have to say goodbye to one another today. Twitter has been full of bittersweet goodbyes messages of hope for the future. “Today is the official last day of @LionheadStudios :'( ” “Find a job you enjoy and you’ll never work a day in your life – Dad was right. #RIPLionhead, what memories we have.” “Getting ready to go to work at #Lionhead for the last time. Hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. #BestTeamEver.” Then there was Stuart Whyte, who posted “Last day of Lionhead 🙁 ” along with that heartbreaking work of art (pictured above) drawn by Damian Buzugbe. I wish the whole team the very best, and hopefully they have many more wonderful stories for us in the future.