Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) today announced it has purchased U.K.-based Lionhead Studios, one of the world’s leading and most innovative video game developers and creators of “Fable(R),” the hit Xbox(R) and Windows(R) franchise.

Lionhead Studios will immediately begin creating content exclusively for the Xbox 360(TM) and Microsoft(R) Windows platforms. The companies previously worked together on the popular role-playing games “Fable” for Xbox and “Fable: The Lost Chapters” for Xbox and Windows, which have collectively surpassed the 2 million global unit sales milestone, making “Fable” the best-selling role- playing franchise on the Xbox platform. “Fable” and “Fable: The Lost Chapters” enable players to make decisions that affect their character’s skills, appearances and morality and the world around them.

With today’s announcement, Lionhead Studios becomes the latest member of MGS, joining such prestigious and globally recognized game creators as Bungie Studios, Ensemble Studios, FASA Studio and Rare Ltd. on a team whose charter is to create exclusive entertainment experiences that differentiate Xbox 360 and Windows from other gaming platforms.

About Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios is based in Guildford, England, and was founded in 1997. The studio’s first game, “Black & White” for PC, was released in 2001, and worldwide sales of it have topped 2 million copies. “Fable” for Xbox and “Fable: The Lost Chapters” for Xbox and Windows have collectively also sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, and the numbers continue to climb, making “Fable” one of the top-selling Xbox titles of all time. “Fable: The Lost Chapters” and two further titles, “Black & White 2” and “The Movies,” were all released in fall 2005. Lionhead was backed by three venture capital funds — IDG Ventures Europe, Add Partners and Ingenious Ventures. For more information about Lionhead Studios, visit http://www.lionhead.com .