Lionhead "suspends" Intrepid's B.C.

British development group Lionhead Studios has announced that work on Xbox exclusive title B.C. has been suspended, with the future of both the title and the team working on it, Intrepid Computer Entertainment, now in doubt.

BC, an ambitious title set in a fictional prehistoric age, placed players in charge of a group of prehistoric tribesmen and women faced with dangers ranging from dinosaurs to rival human groups, and challenged them with teaching them sufficient survival skills to overcome an extinction-level event.

The suspension of the title comes as a surprise, since it was thought to be near completion - with a launch later this year or in early 2005 expected, and the team at Intrepid already talking about plans for a follow-up.

However, in a statement today, Lionhead managing director Peter Molyneux confirmed that the title is suspended, saying that "the decision to suspend work on any games project is always a difficult one, particularly when it is a title with the potential of BC."

"We hope to revive the project at a later date and will endeavour to assign as many of the team as possible to other Lionhead projects," he concluded - indicating that Intrepid Computer Entertainment itself will fold as a result of the suspension.