Molyneux Promoted: Creative Director of Microsoft Game Studios

Lionhead Studios boss and game development luminary Peter Molyneux has been promoted to creative director of Microsoft Games Studios.

The new role will see him overseeing Rare and other European projects being handled externally, according to Develop magazine.

Molyneux apparently assumed the role back in March.

It won't mean that his duties at Lionhead, the studio he founded in 1997 (bought by Microsoft in 2006), will be abandoned. Molyneux will continue to oversee two titles under development there.

Discussing his new role, Molyneux said, "I'm definitely not going to go in and say 'this is a dumb idea' and 'this is a good idea'. I'm more about making sure they really are doing the experiences they're passionate about. Because passion is really central.

"That's probably going to involve innovation, I'm going to be pushing them more on the innovation side, especially with project Natal, and saying, 'look, don't think you've got all of your design comforts here any more, let's think of a new way of doing all that.'"

Molyneux was seen at Microsoft's E3 2009 press conference showing off Project Natal earlier in the week. It was later hinted that he had another announcement coming. Looks like this was that announcement.

^{Sources:
Develop
GI.biz}