Lionhead Studios shuts its doors today

After 20 years, Lionhead Studios is officially no more. A Microsoft representative confirmed to Polygon that the British developer behind games like Black & White and Fable will shut down today for good.

"We can confirm that after much consideration over the six week consultation period with Lionhead employees, we have reached the decision to close Lionhead Studios," the representative said. "We have nothing but heart-felt thanks for the team at Lionhead for their significant contributions to Xbox and the games industry."

Microsoft announced that it had begun preparing Lionhead staffers for the closure in March. Development on Fable Legends, a free-to-play multiplayer game, also stopped at that time. The game was announced in 2013 for a 2015 release on Windows PC and Xbox One; a beta was planned for this spring.

The consultation period included assisting studio members in finding work, Microsoft said, as required under British law.

"We remain committed to the development communities in the UK and Europe, and have been working to support Lionhead employees in finding new opportunities at Microsoft or in the wider gaming industry," the Microsoft representative told Polygon. "All employees have been provided with the option of assistance on internal job search and placement or external job search support." That support will continue for the next 12 months, the representative added.

"We thank the employees for actively engaging in this process," Microsoft said.

Lionhead employees and studio fans have taken to Twitter to share their memories of the company, as well as offering condolences to those affected by the shutdown. Users have gathered under the #RIPLionhead and #LionheadMemories tags to reminisce about the veteran company, founded by Peter Molyneux in 1996.

Lionhead Studios closing today... Very emotional even though I left in 2011. But once a lion... #riplionhead pic.twitter.com/JyH7JXCyzg

— Georg Backer (@georgbacker) April 29, 2016

Fable Legends at Gamescom 2015