There is disappointing news for Fable fans today, as Microsoft has announced that it has cancelled development on Fable Legends and will be shutting down Lionhead Studios, the U.K.-based developer who has been behind the Fable franchise since the release of the first game nearly 12 years ago.

“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,” Hanno Lemke, General Manager of Microsoft Studios Europe, wrote in a blog post.

“The Lionhead Studios team has delighted millions of fans with the Fable series over the past decade. Press Play imbued the industry with a unique creative spirit behind games like Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Kalimba, which both captured passionate fans. 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.”

To date, there have only been three mainline Fable games, the last of which was released in 2010 to mixed reviews. There have also been a small number of spin-off games, including Fable Heroes and Fable II Pub Games.

Lionhead had most recently been working on a new game in the series, Fable Legends, which would have been a free-to-play 4v1 action RPG where one player would take on the role of a villain and four other players would play as heroes fighting against him or her.

Fable Legends had been in development for nearly four years. Lionhead announced in December that the game would be released in 2016 with a closed beta beginning in the first or second quarter of the year, so it seems that development on Fable Legends must have been fairly far along.

Lemke did not explain why exactly Microsoft had decided to cancel a game that had already been in development for several years, especially from a franchise that already has a small yet dedicated fan base.

Image credit: Lionshead Studios (c)