Lionhead Studios

Lionhead Studios is a developer.

Lionhead Studios Webpage

A British development studio based in Guildford. It operated from 1997 to 2016 and was owned by Microsoft from 2006 to 2016. Lionhead Studios created games for PCs and consoles and became famous for the Black & White and Fable series.

History

The beginnings

Lionhead Studios' history begins in July 1997. The company was founded by former employees of Bullfrog Productions, a team that had made a name for themselves with franchises such as Populous, Syndicate, Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper. Its founders were Peter Molyneux, Mark Webley, Tim Rance and Steve Jackson.

Interestingly, the studio was named after Webley's hamster and it was their first choice. When it passed away, the name was changed to Redeye Studios. However, it turned out that not only was this name already taken, but it could also refer to alcohol. As a result, the team decided to stick with the former name.

The Black & White era

The debut project of the newly founded studio was Black & White, released by Electronic Arts in 2001. This strategy game with RPG elements was a resounding artistic and commercial success. The latter allowed Lionhead Studios to solidify its position in the industry and secure funding for a number of subsequent projects developed by newly formed satellite companies: Big Blue Box Studios, Intrepid Computer Entertainment and Black & White Studios. Eventually, the company also debuted on the stock exchange. Interestingly, years later, Molyneux described this as "the stupidest thing that ever happened," as it forced the studio to expand rapidly and create more games in a short period of time.

Ultimately, the decision was made to merge Big Blue Box Studios and Intrepid Computer Entertainment into Lionhead Studios. The goal was to accelerate the development of the company's next project, the RPG Fable. The game released on Xbox in 2004 and a year later, it was also released on PC, in an expanded version called The Lost Chapters. Like Black & White, this project also achieved great artistic and commercial success.

Acquisition by Microsoft

Furthermore, 2005 saw the release of Black & White 2 and The Movies. The former was well-received, but the latter was a disastrous failure. As a result, Lionhead experienced financial difficulties.

However, on April 6, 2006, the studio was acquired by Microsoft, which decided to secure the Fable franchise as a console exclusive for Xbox. Another potential buyer was Ubisoft, which could have made Fable a multiplatform franchise. Before the acquisition was officially completed, Mark Healey, Alex Evans and several other developers left Lionhead Studios to found Media Molecule. Steve Jackson also left the studio after the acquisition by the Redmond giant.

The Fable Era

The first positive results of the acquisition were not long in coming. The studio's headquarters expanded significantly and Fable II, released in 2008 exclusively for the Xbox 360, was a critical and commercial success. The game received two expansions. In 2010, 18 months after its release, the third installment in the series was released, but it failed to live up to the expectations of both fans and the publisher. Like its predecessor, Fable III received two expansion packs and was released on PC in 2011. Meanwhile, Peter Molyneux was appointed Creative Director of Microsoft Studios Europe.

Lionhead Studios' next project was supposed to be Project Milo, a unique title designed for the Kinect device, but it was ultimately canceled. It was replaced by the unsuccessful Fable: The Journey (2012), the release of which was preceded by the debut of another spin-off in the series, Fable Heroes (also 2012). Early 2012 also brought another wave of resignations among Lionhead Studios employees. Shortly thereafter, Peter Molyneux himself left Lionhead Studios to found 22cans.

Molyneux was replaced by Mark Webley, though he was quickly replaced by Scott Henson. Due to pressure from Microsoft, which demanded Lionhead Studios develop a game-as-a-service, Fable IV was canceled, and the team's next project was to be another spin-off of the franchise: Fable Legends, which was designed with multiplayer gameplay in mind.

An Unexpected End

However, the development of Fable Legends wasn't going according to plan and in March 2016, news broke that the project had been canceled and Lionhead Studios itself was facing closure. While handing Fable Legends over to another team was considered, it wasn't done in the end.

Lionhead Studios officially closed on April 29, 2016. In addition to Peter Molenux's 22cans and Mark Healey and Alex Evans' Media Molecule, its legacy also included Two Point Studios, founded by Gary Carr and Mark Webley.