Now that the dust cloud surrounding the sudden cancellation of Fable Legends and the shutdown of Lionhead Studios is beginning to fade, a few additional details are becoming clear.
We knew that Microsoft was still not giving any indication about what was about to happen at the recent press event in San Francisco. However, what's more troubling is that the folks at Lionhead apparently didn't have any idea until the very last minute.
Just a few hours before the unfortunate announcement, the Community Manager posted this reply when answering to the cry for news on the game:
Whilst we are well aware there is an eagerness for people to have more information and for everyone to play the game, we don't want to rush something out that will disappoint. We're taking the time and effort to really review feedback and data and update and improve the game based upon that. Sure, that means a few delays along the way but ultimately it's better to have a late but good game than an instant but not as good as it could be game.
That's even true for Lionhead's key members, in case you're wondering, as confirmed by Creative Director David Eckleberry (who was often featured in interviews on Fable Legends).
@BuldozerX More or less, yeah
— David Eckelberry (@eckelberry) March 8, 2016
Quite ironically, Microsoft had sent flowers to Mr. Eckelberry's house just the previous day, possibly to congratulate for his daughter's birth.
Life is full of absurdity. Yesterday Microsoft delivered flowers to my home to celebrate my daughter's birth. At least I think that was why.
— David Eckelberry (@eckelberry) March 8, 2016
There's even an unconfirmed report by one of the owners of GameWith about the Lionhead team receiving the news just as the Xbox Wire post was published, though that's merely a rumor at this point.
@VG_Dave From the people I have spoken to they were in a meeting being told at the same time as that article went up on Xbox Wire.
— Joe Dale (@Joeydale13) March 7, 2016
Fable Legends will be playable for beta testers until April 13 at 3PM GMT, and those eligible for a refund for gold purchased in-game will be contacted via email.
Let's hope that this isn't the end of the Fable IP, as that would be a real pity.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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