10 Video Games Cancelled For The WORST Reasons
6. Fable Legends (Lionhead Studios)
I once met Peter Molyneux during a game pitch session. He said he could "really feel the passion" and "got the spirit" of our game, which doesn't really mean anything, but it tells you a lot about Peter himself - his openness, his creativity, but ultimately his refusal to be pragmatic when being a dreamer is also an option.
With Fable Legends, its ambition was lofty (and, of what Legends achieved, you could argue it preceded a lot of the asymmetrical multiplayer trends that popped up just a few years later), however part of the issue wasn't that the game itself was poor - the issue was with the use of the IP itself.
Much like Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - another game ahead of its time (with stellar ideas which would later be used in other hugely popular titles) - Fable Legends had some excellent gameplay, but fans simply did not want what it offered from a Fable game in particular. Lionhead had been criticised just a few years earlier for producing Fable: The Journey, a Kinect game also far removed from the traditional titles.
After waiting half a decade for a new Fable, and with the sour taste of The Journey still in their mouths, fans just didn't want any more IP shakeups.
What resulted was a sharp dropoff of interest, and the internet angrily boycotted the playtests, sneering "not MY Fable!".