The BBC News is reporting that veteran game designer Peter Molyneux will receive the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to the computer games industry. The Lionhead Studios’ founder has been involved in the gaming industry for over 15-years and has been responsible for such titles as Populus, Theme Park, Black & White and more recently Fable for the Xbox.

Here’s a clipping from the BBC News feed

Speaking to the BBC News website Mr Molyneux said receiving the honour was something of a surprise.

It’s come completely out of the blue,” he said, “I never would have guessed that I’d have that kind of honour.”

He said he was surprised as much because, not too long ago, many people thought computer gaming was a fad.