This little-known video demo of ‘Milo’ reminds us why Peter Molyneux dumped Microsoft

As one of the lucky few ever to experience the ‘Milo’ project first-hand, I always thought it was a huge shame that it never made it into the public domain (not even as a curious bit of entertainment DLC on Xbox Live). Now its creator, Peter Molyneux, has finally spoken about how disappointed he was too - and admitted it could have been a part of his decision to quit as Microsoft’s creative boss.

“I was very disappointed Milo & Kate didn’t go anywhere, I have to say…  It should give you something you’ve never seen or experienced before, and Milo was that… It was definitely the most fascinating project I ever worked on.”

…these are among some of Peter’s first comments as a newly independent games developer, in a superb new interview with Eurogamer.

“It was something that was far more realised than the world ended up ever seeing.”

Sadly, I believe the fullest glimpse of Milo to have been demo’d publicly, hardly anyone has actually seen (judging by YouTube views), from this TED Global conference in Oxford, in 2010:

When asked if Milo getting canned as a project helped push Molyneux to his decision to leave Microsoft and start his new studio 22Cans, he said “I’m sure it was there subconsciously.” Although there are of course many reasons, and the times ahead sound pretty exciting for one of gaming’s best loved British creators.

Full Interview: Eurogamer

Classic Kikizo interviews with Peter Molyneux: Oct 2008, Sep 2008, Aug 2007, Oct 2006, June 2006, Aug 2004, Aug 2004 (2) and Natal Meeting