Fable Developer Lionhead Studios is on “Opposite End of Scale” From Microsoft

Creative director Gary Carr says the studio very much has its own identity.

Posted By | On 20th, Sep. 2013

Fable Legends Xbox One
Despite being bought out by Microsoft and then the subsequent departure of founder Peter Molyneux, creative director Gary Carr has maintained that the Fable creator Lionhead Studios still maintains its core philosophy and identity.

Speaking to OXM in regards to the appointment of John Needham as studio head, Carr stated that “John’s amazing. He sits next to me actually. He’s great because obviously when Peter left, we had a year of change. We had an interim boss in [former Rare studio manager] Scott Henson, who was looking after us until we found the right person. Because you don’t lose Peter and just drop anybody in – you have to find somebody who would culturally fit in.

“And to be fair to Microsoft, they didn’t want to drop in a Microsofty person. They wanted to find somebody who fitted the culture of Lionhead. Because when they did culture tests on Lionhead, and we’re at the opposite end of the scale to where Microsoft normally are. So they looked long and hard and found John, and it’s fair to say we all had this scepticism about him being just another corporate dude in a suit before he walked in, but he’s not. He’s an absolute great guy, and very, very non-Microsofty – and I’m not saying that in order to be derogatory to Microsoft, because Microsoft picked him.

“They know the culture of the studio, they know we want to retain an identity, and they also knew Peter’s a difficult person to replace, and I’m glad they took so long because he’s an absolute spot-on hire. I really get on with the guy. The best thing about John is he’s a people person, he can completely relate to anyone, he knows everybody in the studio by name already, he walks around, he talks to everybody, he asks them about themselves, he makes everybody feel like they’re part of the studio.”

Which is all well and good, but does any of this mean we’ll be seeing something other than Fable from the developer any time soon? With Fable: Anniversary and Fable: Legends in development for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, it doesn’t seem likely. So while Lionhead Studios remains the same in terms of culture, it’s still geared to churning out what Microsoft wants.


Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!

Share Your Thoughts Below  (Always follow our comments policy!)



Keep On Reading!

Ubisoft Says it Has “Started an Exploration Phase on the Rayman Brand”

Ubisoft Says it Has “Started an Exploration Phase on the Rayman Brand”

Following recent reports that a Rayman remake is in the works, Ubisoft has stated that it has started explorin...

EA Sports FC 25, Astro Bot Were the US’ Bestselling Games in September

EA Sports FC 25, Astro Bot Were the US’ Bestselling Games in September

Other new releases such as The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and others...

PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch All Saw Sharp Year-on-Year Declines in US Sales in September

PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch All Saw Sharp Year-on-Year Declines in US Sales in September

Hardware spending in the US fell by 44 percent year-on-year to $251 million, which is the lowest it has been f...

Guilty Gear Strive Balance Update Coming October 31st

Guilty Gear Strive Balance Update Coming October 31st

All 28 characters have received adjustments, from buffs and cancels into other techniques for increased combo ...

Fallout: London Crosses 1 Million Downloads

Fallout: London Crosses 1 Million Downloads

The total conversion for Fallout 4 recently received a massive update, which restores missing dialogue and fix...

The Rogue Prince of Persia is Now Steam Deck Verified

The Rogue Prince of Persia is Now Steam Deck Verified

Evil Empire warns that Steam Deck players "may experience occasional drops in frame rate" in some sections of ...