Masters of Albion is Peter Molyneux's final shot at redemption (probably)
Opinions on Peter Molyneux vary.
For some, he's a whimsical raconteur responsible for some of the most inspirational games in this industry.
For others, he's someone who wilfully misleads fans and has somewhat sullied his reputation with ill-advised pivots into motion controls, Kickstarter and NFTs.
But if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that Peter Molyneux has made some great games. Right?
"I've never made a great game,” Molyneux insists.
"I feel ultimately guilty because I am just a member of a team. I’m just the frontman. The people that we’ve got here, Gary and Anna and Thomas and Tom… they are putting slices of their lives into this game. And it’s my direction that I’ve given them. So for the game not to be… I’ve never got an Edge 10/10. I know that may seem trivial. But to have worked with such incredibly talented people and not to make something great… it just drives me on."
No matter what the critics at Edge might think (Dungeon Keeper, Black & White and Fable 2 all scored 9/10, for the record), you can’t move in this industry without running into someone who was inspired to get into games because of what Molyneux’s teams created at Bullfrog and Lionhead. That’s an impact other creators could only dream of.
"I am honoured to have been part of people’s lives," Molyneux says. "But that’s not my definition of greatness. And without that drive [for greatness], I don’t think I’d be here sitting opposite you now at 65."
The reason Molyneux is sitting opposite me is to discuss what might be his final game: Masters of Albion. By the time you’re reading this the trailer would have been shown on stage at Gamescom. And after more than a decade making (primarily) mobile games at his studio 22Cans, Molyneux is - as he told GamesIndustry.biz last year - returning to PC and console.
"I started to realise there was a formula with free-to-play games," he explains. "And if you adhere to that formula then your game will monetise well, but if you try to go off that formula,
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