Molyneux leaves Lionhead for new venture

Today Peter Molyneux revealed that he is leaving Lionhead which he co-founded back in 1997. Molyneux will stay on at the developer to see Fable: The Journey through to completion.
“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,”  he told Kotaku.
Microsoft also issued a statement passing on their thoughts on his departure which must be a blow. “Lionhead Studios Founder and pioneer game developer Peter Molyneux has made the decision to leave Microsoft. While his decision was a difficult one, he felt the time was right to pursue a new independent venture”.
Molyneux revealed in the early hours of this morning via Twitter that he will be joining a new studio called 22 Cans, although we have no further information on the new studio at the moment.
“I have left the lovely amazing Microsoft and lionhead. Now for something really amazing, scary and brave a new company called 22 Cans”
Molyneux is credited for classic titles, especially under Bullfrog before he formed Lionhead. Games such as Magic Carpet and Populous are just two titles that caught our attention at the time, and who can forget Hi-Octane which was developed in six weeks on the Magic Carpet engine, a fast racer and brilliant fun in multiplayer.
Molyneux is best known in recent times for his work on the Fable series and he’s always trying to think outside the box, even if sometimes his vision is never quite delivered in the final game. Maybe now with a smaller team and a new sense of freedom, Molyneux will continue to create games that will be considered real classics in the years to come.