Please Don't Close Lionhead Studios

Jason Stettner of Gamerheadquarters writes "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.""

[DragonDDark]

Too late :(

[skycaptin5]

They're not officially closed, it's been stated as "proposed closure". So it's not over yet, but might be.

[DragonDDark]

Thanks for clarifying man. I thought that the decision was already made..

+Helpful

[Gazondaily]

What's the last good game they made though?

[mikeslemonade]

I haven't liked them since the orignal Fable. You could shut them down despite being a AAA developer.

But they were making an annoying free to play game.

[GameNameFame]

This is a common theme on how Xbox is moving away it's focus from gaming.

This has been long time coming. Think about it. All the exclusives were purchased from third party on short term basis. If MS were so focus on games, they would have expanded their devs.

Yet sort term exclusive was their plan. I've called it years ago. With this losing exclusive to PC, it makes their intent clear.

One thing I didnt realize was how desperate xbox fans are defending this. Lol

[n4rc]

Love how you conveniently ignore the studios they've formed in the last couple years..

Lionhead has done what exactly in the last how many years? A f2p fable that obviously isn't good enough to release or they would be

[GameNameFame]

@n4rc

Like what? You mean 343 to fill in end of partnership with Bungie? Or Black Tusk to fill in shoe of Epic.

Both cases were step down. Just look at metascore, Halo score has been lowest ever.

So new(not replacement) studios? Lol I will wait.

[ShinMaster]

Peter Molyneux and his best people already left anyway.

The can close down Rare for all I care. All the key devs left that studio long ago too.

Microsoft is just riding on their names.

[Godmars290]

Isn't it still under discussion? Fable Legend's only been canceled outright mainly because of the consideration.

Not that such makes less sense in light of it being promoted as it has. How such decisions aren't going to hurt MS in the long run.

[rainslacker]

The impression I got from the press release was that it was going to happen, but they still had to take care of the employees that were there. Probably things like exit strategies, making sure they are set up for getting new jobs through HR initiatives, and likely severance packages. Typically, when they intend to offer those things, the studio itself won't be closed completely until all those details are settled.

It's actually good if that's the case, because it's not like they are just closing the doors and everyone being left unemployed. There are studios which do get shut down like that, and since they aren't as well known, we don't really hear about them.

Also possible, MS may be looking at consolidating some of it's studio's operations into one place....in which case, the closure would be more like a reassignment for the employees.

Keep in mind, this is pure speculation, and my own interpretation of what was said on the announcement, but the liklihood is high it's already decided, otherwise LH is at a place where they will be dormant for months waiting for a new production.

[DarkOcelet]

Its so weird to cancel Fable Legends when it looked like its in the final stages of development.

Come on MS, what are you doing here? First, Phantom Dust is gone and its developers are let go and now this. You really have some explaining to do.

[Queasy]

Did you play the beta at all? It's not been very fun IMHO. Throwing more money into a multi-delayed product that isn't very engaging or fun isn't exactly a winning strategy. Sometimes you have to cut your losses.

[skycaptin5]

It all seemed as though it was basically finished with other comments aside I'm unsure why they wouldn't just release it as is considering the time/resources spent on it.

[DarkOcelet]

So they cancel it after what seems to be a big amount of money spent on it?

They should have let the devs finish it.

[Eonjay]

This is so confusing because we got folks saying that the beta was really good. Maybe personal taste? I don't know. Why didn't you like it?

[rainslacker]

@Dark

Thing is, FL wasn't really a game that could just be released, and they could just recoup some money from it's investment.

The business model around the games release required constant support and updates. Servers cost money to run the game. All those MT which were to fund the game have to keep getting made, and the chance people would invest in it if it wasn't getting support are greatly reduced if they know that long term support isn't coming.

If this were a SP game, or even a MP game that didn't require long term support and content creation, it's highly likely it would be allowed to be finished, even if the quality wasn't as high as what MS wanted.

It sucks, but this game was going to be an ongoing cost, and MS probably felt there was no way they could recoup the investment, or didn't feel it was justified to invest more money into it because it wasn't likely to see a return at all.

[gangsta_red]

"So they cancel it after what seems to be a big amount of money spent on it?"

It was also F2P, I also heard that it was okay but not engaging. It had zero buzz, delayed for what seemed like ages and not a lot of people were interested in it from the beginning.

That is seriously a recipe of financial disaster especially for a F2P game. Better to cut the loss now then pour more money and hope (pray) it does well on the market.

[Saranya]

Phantom Dust arn't going anywhere it's just change developer.

[Chivas11]

I rather they close Rare than Lionhead

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I would rather they not close studios, so people don't lose their jobs.

[quent]

If the guys at lionhead loses their jobs I'm sure they can successfully kickstart a new B&W game, indie is rapidly growing and triple is growing rapidly in Bullsh!tt, fans can support talented people who would want their creative freedom back.

[ScorpiusX]

Only they can't due to IP ownership which MS owns. now if they can find people to fund a game with tons of delays more power to them .

[neoandrew]

Why not?

They didn't make any great game for years...

[raggy-rocket]

As sad as this makes me, the studio now is just incapable of making a good game since Fable 3 6 years ago (and I'm in a minority for loving that). I hope they get redistributed to any game studio if not other Microsoft first party studios. Fable legends development has been a mess and it feels like an eternity since I first played the beta half a year ago.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

The studio probably didn't generate much revenue for the past 6 years.

[Kingdomcome247]

Microsoft is beginning to tick me off just a little bit. I feel bad for the devs.

[N0TaB0T]

Then just look at what EA and Konami had done.

[aconnellan]

It's incredibly sad for all those developers who are potentially left without a job, and I wish them all the best.

In response to your comment though, what would you do if you were MS?

Lionhead hasn't made a good game in 6 years - since Fable 3, which is arguably the most divisive and poorly received in the series. 6 years later, their next major project is a F2P title that would get not garunteed return on investment (remember - free to play, and especially given the community's stance on microtransactions), the game was in beta for 1.5 years, delayed multiple times, and - according to player reviews - was pretty average from a gameplay perspective.

At this point, they can either continue to pour money into the studio - which at this point has been burning money for a long time - in the hopes that they'll see return in the final product; or, they can put the game on hold and decide where they want to go next.

They could either: hand the game to another studio, or hand the IP to another studio (for Fable 4 for example) - in any circumstance, something has to happen to Lionhead. I sincerely hope that they either don't close, or that they merge with another developer.

There are so many things at play here that it's much more than "stoopid MS, ur the worst"

[Tsunade]

It will be more difficult to find committed first party studios to work with MS after this.

[gangsta_red]

Wouldn't be hard at all since 1st party studios are owned by MS.

MS buys a building, hires a bunch of people, makes a studio name and abracadabra...1st party studio.

[Kiwi66]

And that sentiment should also apply to other companies who close down studios

[Black0ut]

Logically it should but it won't because it'll fall on deaf ears unfortunately.

I hope they don't close Lionhead completely though. They could potentially make a nice Fable 4 (high hopes here). We'll see what happens but it isn't looking to bright for the future :(

[magiciandude]

Same with Sony after closing Zipper Interactive.

[Rookie_Monster]

In addition to Zipper, Sony also closed

BIG blue Studio - MotorStorm: Arctic EdgeIncognito Entertainment - warhawk, Twisted Metal 
Studio Liverpool - Wipeout 

Also, SOE, makers of Planetside 2, was sold off.

And Sony seems to be alright. Everything will be fine as the last great game from Lionhead was Fable 2. That was a long time ago. Pretty sure if MS want another Fable, they can contract it out to a second party developer like how Halo Wars 2 is being made by acclaimed RTS developer, Creative Assembly, after the original team that made Halo Wars were closed as well.

[magiciandude]

I think MS should contract Fable off to CDP Red, or Platinum Games. Either studio would make a really good Fable game.

[gangsta_red]

@Magician

Give Fable to Bioware, Larian Studios, CDP Red or Bethesda. The series though needs a serious re-boot.

[nigelp520]

I enjoyed Fable: The Journey. That being said I wish they finished working on B.C.

I hope Microsoft keeps the studios open. This past 2 weeks have been bad news after bads news for a Xbox fan :(

[gangsta_red]

"Please Don't Close Lionhead Studios"

Sucks really but what have these guys done as of late? Fable has become a joke and Legends seemed like it wasn't going anywhere.

IMO though I think this studio deserves another shot at making another game and seeing what they can produce without being burdened by the over promises of Peter Molyneux or some F2P type game.

[jb227]

I don't think the issue is solely related to Lionhead's quality, its the idea of MS closing down two first party studios in a period where they are desperately in need of first party studios. Nearly every MS 1st party studio is solely dedicated to a single series (343 & Halo, Coalition & Gears), or seemingly tied to HoloLens development.

Games studios are fluid, maybe the last few titles Lionhead released were subpar but we see studios bounce back literally all the time. You could've said the same thing in regards to Rare a couple years back, but now they have a game like Sea of Thieves coming that looks like it could be their comeback. It would be one thing if Lionhead literally never created a quality game, but from my understanding, there are many fans of their earlier work and to just throw them out entirely along w/ the Legends game that only f2p in the first place most likely because MS told them to make it that way is just kinda backwards anyway you slice it.

It's easy to just say that it's not big deal, but regardless of their recent history, Lionhead was one of the few first party studios left in the MS stable that has been around since the beginning of the box.

[gangsta_red]

Why would MS desperately need a first party studio? Especially when Lionhead hasn't produced anything of worth in the longest time. I mean what have these guys done that made them stand out?

Yes, MS direction for their first party studios seems to be focused on the series that is most popular to their system. Is that a bad thing?

"You could've said the same thing in regards to Rare a couple years back,..."

Except Rare's kinect games were actually financial successes and they continue to make quality games for the Xbox One. Can't really say the same for Lionhead studios.

I really don't know who told Lionhead to make the game F2P, but from what I heard the game was lackluster and not that great, just okay. And I am sure no matter if it was F2P or retail, a just ok type of meh game that was in development for probably over three years might have been the last straw in the eyes of MS.

It sux, but nostalgia doesn't pay the bills.

[kraenk12]

Lionhead hasn't done anything of worth since Fable 2. I couldn't care less tbh.

[deathtok]

Fable 3 wasn't great but I've held out hope they would turn it around.

[TeamLeaptrade]

Pretty sad day. Hopefully this is just temporary or something along those lines. Hate seeing a studio like this close.

[Majister-Ludi]

Definitely going to have some talented people hitting the market. I bet a lot are happy they can get a job under someone who isn't Peter. That dude lies his ass off. Maybe fable and a lot of its devs can get a fresh start away from him.

[mEATgrinder]

Sorry, second raters from a studio that is stuck in the 90's glory days wont be missed. Failed to deliver, too slow, and a game i wpuldnt have played even if it was free. Enjoy working at McDonalds

[Goldby]

you are just an awful person you know that, how would you like it if tomorrow, out of the blue your entire company just shut down? would you enjoy working at mcdonalds, cuz with your horrible attitude thats probably a step up for you.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

When will people see MS is the killer of gaming not the creator....

These are the types of reasons i despise MS...
And i hope people all turn thier backs on them now and stop buying MS products to teach them a lesson u think they have stopped with the DRM? no they are just thinking of a new way to introduce it in to the next xbox.