John Needham, former CEO of Cryptic Studios and Gazillion Entertainment, has been appointed studio head of Fable developer Lionhead Studios, according to a recent posting on the developer's website.
As CEO, Needham oversaw development studios that have created games like City of Heroes and Star Trek Online (Cryptic) and Marvel Heroes (Gazillion). Lionhead's post touts his experience with massively multiplayer online role-playing games, free-to-play titles as well as PC and mobile games.
"This is a historic time in our industry and I'm excited, and honored, to be joining Lionhead and Microsoft Studios," Needham said. "Our vision is focused on building innovative gaming services and AAA experiences at Lionhead, and the rest of Microsoft Studios, which take advantage of Microsoft's incredible hardware and software platforms. Personally, I can't wait to get started."
Lionhead's former creative director, Peter Molyneux, departed the company to form 22Cans, an independent studio. For more on the U.K.-based Lionhead, be sure to read our interview with Molyneux's successor, Gary Carr, and our feature about Lionhead's Kinect demo, Milo & Kate.