After Cancellation, Fable Legends Beta Will Stay Online Until April

Following Microsoft's announcement this morning that Fable Legends had been canceled and that developer Lionhead Studios might be closing its doors, it's now been confirmed exactly when the game's beta will come down and more.

If you are already in the beta, you can continue to play up until 15:00 GMT on Wednesday, April 13, Lionhead confirmed in a forum post. No new players will be added.

After April 13, the game's servers will be turned off and the game will no longer be playable.

Additionally, the ability to purchase Gold from Fable Legends' in-game bank has disabled, effectively immediately. If you have already purchased gold and haven't spent it, Microsoft will give you a refund. Instructions for how to get a refund will be sent to beta testers by email in the next week.

Fable Legends was in development for Xbox One and PC. It was originally scheduled to launch in 2015 through an open beta, but that never happened. Microsoft had high hopes for the free-to-play game, as the company said the title had the potential live for 5 to 10 years, with regular content coming to keep it fresh.

As for Lionhead, Microsoft has not yet outright confirmed the British studio will close and is instead saying it is "in discussions" with employees. This is likely because UK law requires employers to create a consultancy period of at least 30 days. During this, measures to avoid redundancies are to be explored. The period also gives those affected some time to search for new jobs.

Microsoft also announced today that Denmark-based Press Play Studios, which is known for Kalimba and Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, has been shuttered, and work on Project Knoxville has been suspended. The game was described as a third-person, multiplayer action title that "deals with fragile alliances and survival, in a game show setting."

For more on the big changes for Microsoft's European studios, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.