Well, this is quite a blow to fans of the Fable series.
Today Microsoft have announced that the upcoming game Fable Legends has stopped development, and what's more Lionhead Studios could also be no more soon. All this comes from an update that's detailing changes to the company's internal development studios, one of which is Lionhead. The update also mentions that other studio Press Play is a certain to be shut down:
After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends, and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK. Additionally, we will close Press Play Studios in Denmark, and sunset development on Project Knoxville.
These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly, nor are they a reflection on these development teams – we are incredibly fortunate to have the talent, creativity and commitment of the people at these studios... These changes are taking effect as Microsoft Studios continues to focus its investment and development on the games and franchises that fans find most exciting and want to play.
Fable Legends would have been a multiplayer title that would have taken the series in a new direction - pitting the majority of players as heroes against their sole opponent who would have been controlling the monsters and other various hazards. It even had a beta and a lot of time had already been spent promoting the game to players so it's a shame to see all that effort going to waste.
Press Play was currently working on a third-person multiplayer survival game codenamed Project Knoxville, chosen through a fan vote campaign. With the studio's closure it seems this project might be dead in the water as well.
Of course, given the wording of the update, it's not yet certain that Lionhead will be closed although Microsoft say they are in talks with the studio discussing its closure.
Either way, it's a sad day for anyone who was looking forward to the next Fable game and our thoughts are with those people at Lionhead and Press Play.