Please Don't Close Lionhead Studios

In what can only be described as shocking news to read this morning it would seem that Lionhead Studios may very well be closed in what Microsoft states as a refocus on "investment and development on the games and franchises that fans find most exciting and want to play." Aside from the proposed closure of Lionhead they have also closed Press Play which focused on smaller titles which were family oriented and fun to play which is also a tragedy. That company had just started on a fan chosen project a few months ago with great spotlights on development so that was an odd closure to see. Back on the track to the main focus of Lionhead, which is one of the most beloved studios in the Xbox first party roster and it would be the absolute worst to see them go. Development of the latest title "Fable Legends" has been completed axed off which is also somewhat disappointing as it was a decent title. I can only talk of my time with it at E3 since the beta has been under NDA, but it was decent enough. I had always gone the route of saying I just want them to put it out so they can make a proper Fable game and that was definitely the vibe from everyone else I had talked to. It might have been just the style of game, but to sink so many years and resources into a free to play title which should have been a side project was a mistake. It also feels odd they would cancel Fable Legends as it was going to be one of their first tiles that was completely connected on Xbox One and Windows 10.





Now to get onto the pleading towards Xbox to please don't close Lionhead Studios as it's an iconic studio. They are of course well known for the Fable series which is probably the second ever Xbox title I played when I was younger with each entry being an exceptional experience. We can debate whether or not everyone loved the third entry, but I enjoyed each of the titles along with Fable Heroes as I found it to be an adorable side game. The level of charm, hilarity and general direction made the Fable series a benchmark for the RPG in the early days. I couldn't honestly imagine any other studio being able to capture what makes these Fable games so special and it would be a scary thought to see anyone else with the reigns on the series. While recent times the studio has lacked direction with Fable: The Journey and Fable Legends these two titles should not be the end of such a beloved studio. They should perhaps have some better guidance overseeing them such as with Peter Molyneux which everyone hates for some reason, but he did have vision and got games done. Lionhead Studios is one of the few well known first party studios for Xbox with this morning's news being a mix of sorrow, anger and confusion to why it has gotten to this point. With that I say once more, please don't close Lionhead Studios as their titles have always been special to many individuals and the Xbox brand being a core aspect of it.

A side thought, we're probably never getting another "The Movies" game are we?

Check out Fable Legends E3 2015 Gameplay
Read Why Backwards Compatibility has Been Great
Read the official Xbox Wire Post about the Closure