One of gaming’s most respected figures is leaving Microsoft & Lionhead Studios.
Kotaku today is reporting that Peter Molyneux is leaving Microsoft and Lionhead Studios once he finishes up on Fable: The Journey for Kinect on Xbox 360.
“It is with mixed emotions that I made the decision to leave Microsoft and Lionhead Studios, the company that I co-founded in 1997, at the conclusion of development of Fable: The Journey.,” Molyneux said in a statement to the massive gaming news site.
This likely means we won’t be seeing Fable 4 with any Molyneux insight, unless he leaves behind some tips for the next sequel, or decides to serve as a consultant on the next iteration of the franchise.
Molyneux oversaw all of Microsoft Studios Europe which included Lionhead, the creators of Fable, as well as Rare, who designed the original Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64, as well as Perfect Dark and Perfect Dark Zero for the Nintedo 64 and Xbox 360, respectively.
Both the prolific gaming mind and the company behind him portray the split as amicable, although it does come amid the Game Developers Conference, leading to some speculation that it may not be. The timing is very coincidental to such a massive gaming event where all companies are trying to put their best out there and cover up as much negativity as they possibly can. Something doesn’t seem right from Eggplante’s perspective.
It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Molyneux at E3 2011 last June, where he graciously gave us his E3 badge to sell and donate the proceeds to charity. All the best to you, sir! Even with this departure, we’re positive we’ll all be hearing from the Molyneux camp very soon.