Fable II Lead Designer Leaves Lionhead Studios

Splash Damage issued a press release this morning announcing that they’ve recruited Fable II lead designer Richard Ham as their creative director. No word yet on who’s taking his place at Lionhead, but one would expect that we’ll hear something soon.

SPLASH DAMAGE INSTALLS FABLE II LEAD DESIGNER AS CREATIVE DIRECTOR
15-year industry veteran to drive vision for studio’s new title.
London, England – 8th December 2008 – Splash Damage today announced that it has appointed industry veteran Richard Ham as Creative Director. Richard comes to Splash Damage having completed Lionhead’s critically acclaimed hit FableÂ® II as Lead Designer, and was the creative lead of Syphon FilterÂ®, the all-time best-selling shooter franchise for the original PlayStationÂ®.
In his new role as Creative Director at Splash Damage, Richard will drive the vision and lead the design team behind their new AAA multi-platform title being developed in partnership with Bethesda Softworks, creators of the blockbuster hit FalloutÂ® 3. Richard will work alongside the wealth of talent that has joined Splash Damage throughout 2008, including senior, lead, and directorial staff behind hits such as Mass EffectTM, Rainbow SixÂ® Vegas, Heavenly SwordTM, and BurnoutTM Paradise.
“We have spent months searching for the right person to lead Splash Damage’s new title creatively, and Richard is an exact fit,” said Paul Wedgwood, owner of Splash Damage and Studio Director. “His stunning track record makes him ideal to drive our vision for such a truly ambitious new multiplatform project. I am constantly flabbergasted by his incredible design wit and intellect.”
Richard Ham added, “I’m really excited to be at Splash Damage. Their pedigree in shooters is absolutely fantastic and when I met the team and saw what they were working on, I knew I had to be part of it.”
Richard brings 15 years of game development and creative direction experience to Splash Damage and has worked on several high profile titles across most gaming platforms. He started out in the industry working for Nintendo of America and later joined Sony Computer Entertainment of America, where he led the hugely successful Syphon Filter series for the original PlayStation, the best-selling shooter franchise in the platform’s history. He later served as Creative Director of Edge of Reality, where he successfully adapted EA’s massive hit The SimsTM to consoles and contributed to several other titles. Richard most recently worked at Lionhead Studios, where he worked on Fable: The Lost Chapters and The MoviesTM for the PC and led the design team for the acclaimed Fable II.
About Splash Damage
Based in London, England, Splash Damage Ltd is an independently owned game developer that created the critically acclaimed Wolfenstein: Enemy TerritoryTM for id Software and most recently developed Enemy Territory: QUAKE WarsTM. The studio has won over 100 awards and nominations from publications across the world and was named Best Independent Developer at the Develop Industry Excellence Awards 2008. Founded by Paul ‘Locki’ Wedgwood in 2001 with key members of the mod-making community, Splash Damage is currently working on an as-yet unannounced multiplatform title with Bethesda Softworks. For more information, visit www.splashdamage.com.

Hmm… we still don’t know what they’re working on with Bethesda.