Microsoft to dissolve Ensemble after Halo Wars
- September 10, 2008 08:04 AM PST
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In the same day that rumors first surfaced, Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed that it will close Ensemble Studios after the release of Halo Wars.
Halo Wars still coming, but it's maker will be put to pasture
"The team at Ensemble has made invaluable contributions to the games industry with their Age of Empires and Age of Mythology games and with the highly anticipated release of Halo Wars," Microsoft said in a statement obtained by GameSpot. "This decision does not reflect at all on Ensembles talent or the quality of Halo Wars--in fact, many people who have had a chance to test drive Halo Wars agree that it is on track to being a fantastic game."
Although Ensemble will no longer exist after Halo Wars' release next spring, key members from the studio will form a new development team to work on new projects for Microsoft Game Studios and continue to support Halo Wars post-launch, Microsoft said.
"This was a fiscally rooted decision that keeps MGS on its growth path," the statement added. "While the decision to dissolve Ensemble was not an easy one, Microsoft is working to place as many Ensemble employees who do not move to the newly formed studio into open positions within Microsoft as possible."
The news comes as several publishers have begun consolidation efforts to combat the rising cost of video game development. Last year, Activision merged with Blizzard Entertainment, while EA has been courting Take-Two in a buy-out bid.
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- Sep 10 2008 at 07:26:03:AM PST
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Another game company closes, but it really has not done well since The Conquerors/Age Of Mythology. Age Of Empires 3 was not quite as good to be honest.
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Them things happen. I'm sure the decision had to do with money not talent.
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The_Iceman wrote:
does this really matter?
Not really to be honest. It hardly had an impact.
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Doesn't sound good. I'm becoming a little skeptical of Halo Wars now......
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This comes as a shock to me. You would at least think that they wouldn't announce this until after Halo Wars was out to at least see how it does. It just makes me more skeptical about Halo Wars and how Microsoft is handling its first party studios.
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