Fable cocreator leaves Lionhead - Report

In the well-received Fable 3, gamers became a king or queen and exercised power of the land. However, such power isn't for everyone, as another key Fable player has left series shop Lionhead.

Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz today, Lionhead's lead technical director Simon Carter announced that he has left the Guildford, UK developer. He and his brother Dene--who left Lionhead last year--will head up a new digital download-focused studio aimed at creating Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Steam, and mobile games. According to the report, both Simon and Dene were considered "senior management" at Lionhead.

Simon Carter was a cofounder of Big Blue Box, the developer that created the Fable series shortly before merging with Lionhead. In addition to helping create the three core Fable installments, Simon Carter served as technical lead on Dungeon Keeper and was also a part of Bullfrog Productions.

"The decision to leave Lionhead was a very difficult one," Simon Carter told the site. "After initiating the franchise over a decade ago, I still love the world of Fable, and I'm very proud of what Big Blue Box and Lionhead achieved."

Simon Carter explained his decision to depart the studio, saying the games industry is an "exciting place at the moment" and that he is looking forward to "new opportunities to pursue."

"Everything is changing," he said. "Consumer play habits, the relationship between the player and the developer, new funding and payment models; in a few years, things are likely to look very different from the industry we know now."

Lionhead's current project is Fable: The Journey, which was outed just before Microsoft's E3 2011 media briefing only to be confirmed just hours later. Fore more on the Kinect-enabled title, check out GameSpot's preview of Fable: The Journey.