Fable Heroes won't "shape the future direction of Lionhead", says lead designed

Lionhead has said Fable Heroes isn't indicative of future development, according to lead designer Ted Timmins who likened the game to "six guys" creating something "in their spare time," which was liked well enough by the powers-that-be to warrant a release.

"I know that there are so many people out there desperate for news on any future Fable titles," Timmins told Eurogamer, "but I hope that people see it as an accompaniment to the franchise and trying to expand and take it down a slightly different route about hack-and-slash and being fun.

"I can understand the fans' frustrations, because it's like whenever a Zelda game hasn't been announced I'm just desperate to know - 'Give me anything, just a screenshot!' The same applies for Team Ico - 'Where's my next Team Ico game? I'm still waiting for it!'

"It's still a Lionhead game, but it went through a very different process, coming from a Creative Day. It's credit to Lionhead and Microsoft that they're willing to take a chance on some guys that have never really done anything like it before. This doesn't in any way shape the future direction of Lionhead or the games we release. But I hope that it's influenced it in the sense that Creative Days will, from now on - we'll get more things from them."

Timmins also touched upon the departure of figurehead Peter Molyneux, stating that while he is "irreplaceable," the "new Lionhead is going to be more about lots of individuals."

"Lots of creativity, lots of innovation from various different opinions," he said in an effort to reassure fans of the studio. "Peter is irreplaceable. He's inaugurated at BAFTA, he's a total legend in video games. There's no one who can fill those shoes.

"The new Lionhead is going to be able lots of people working together and creating great things."

Fable Heroes lands on Xbox Live Arcade next week, and the Kinect title Fable: The Journey releases in September.