Peter Molyneux to leave Lionhead Studios

Industry luminary, Peter Molyneux, will be leaving Lionhead Studios – the development company that he co-founded back in 1997.

Prior to Lionhead, Molyneux co-founded Bullfrog Productions in 1987. There he helped to create a string of seminal and innovative ‘Britsoft’ titles, including beloved games such as Theme Park, Magic Carpet and Dungeon Keeper. His time at Bullfrog is particularly known for classic ‘god game’ progenitor, Populous.

After leaving Bullfrog Productions in 1997, when it was owned by Electronic Arts, Molyneux went on to form Lionhead Studios. The developer created the notable PC franchises, Black & White and The Movies, before devising the Fable RPG franchise and being acquired by Microsoft in 2006.

Peter Molyneux, Gamescom 2009

“It is with mixed emotions that I made the decision to leave Microsoft and Lionhead Studios, the company that I co-founded in 1997, at the conclusion of development of Fable: The Journey,” Molyneux has said in a statement made to Kotaku.

“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. 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,” said Molyneux.

The news of Molyneux’s eventual departure from Lionhead adds to the growing list of experienced staff that Lionhead has recently lost. The brothers Carter, once senior developers at Lionhead, have reunited and formed a UK-based studio called ‘Another Place Productions’, and will be joined by former art director John McCormack, technical director Guillaume Portes and executive producer, Jeremie Texier – all former employees of Lionhead Studios.