Peter Molyneux’s indie studio, 22Cans, is shaping up to undergo a “reboot”, according to Molyneux, who has stepped down as CEO of the studio in order to focus on his role as Creative Director. Molyneux has also stated that Simon Phillips, who has been with the studio for several years as an Executive Director, will be taking over the CEO spot permanently.
Speaking in a statement to GamesIndustry International, Phillps said:
“22Cans is unlike any team I’ve ever worked with before and has been one of the stand-out studios over the last three years. I’m super excited to be part of the future here and to help take 22Cans to the next level. At 22Cans, we have a mission statement and that is ‘to create world-changing ideas,’ and with Peter now able to fully immerse himself in the creative direction of not only Godus but The Trail and all the really smart, cool ideas we have, I believe we can do just that.”
22Cans, and Molyneux in particular, have been receiving a vast amount of criticism recently, due to what many are saying is a system of “over promising and under delivering.” Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, Molyneux has said of the matter:
“I say these ideas so passionately, people think that these are hard and fast promises.I truly believe them when I say them, but as you know, sometimes they don’t come to pass. They don’t come to pass because they’re too technically difficult, they don’t come to pass because maybe they don’t fit and people see this as being a promise.”
Over the past several months, a number of employees have left the company, although not many of them would comment on the matter. Jack Attridge, the co-creator of Godus, left the company in April during a time when the company was under a lot of scrutiny because of Godus. However, Attridge claimed that his exit from the company had nothing to do with the controversy.