Peter Molyneux, designer of Fable and Black and White, has decided to leave Microsoft. The Lionhead Studios founder will be joining a new company in Guildford called 22 Cans.
Molyneux created Lionhead Studios in 1997. Microsoft Game Studios acquired the developer in 2006. Three years later, Molyneux became the creative director of Microsoft Games Europe. He continued to work at Lionhead in spite of this promotion.
"I remain extremely passionate and proud of the people, products and experiences that we created, from Black & White to Fable to our pioneering work with Milo and Kate for the Kinect platform," Molyneux said in a statement (via Eurogamer). "However, I felt the time was right to pursue a new independent venture. I'd like to thank the team at Lionhead, as well as our partners at Microsoft Studios for their support, dedication and incredible work over the years."
Not much is known about Molyneux's new employer 22 Cans. It was founded by Tim Rance, Lionhead's former chief technical officer. Molyneux described the move to 22 Cans on Twitter as "something really amazing, scary and brave."
Lionhead is currently working on Fable: The Journey, an action-heavy Kinect spin-off in the RPG series. Molyneux will keep working with Lionhead on the project as a consultant. Journey is due this fall.
