Ensemble Studios, the developers of Halo Wars and known for the Age of Empires games will be shutting down after the release of Halo Wars.
Not only that but today they announced that they are giving the axe to all non-essential employees as well as employees not directly related to the Halo Wars project. All the members that will stay onboard are being offered incentives to stay with the studio until the game is complete.
More after the jump.
What on earth is going on at Ensemble? Why would the studio be shut down so suddenly and why would a studio of this caliber need to be shut down anyway? These are things I don’t know and maybe there is a good reason, but we don’t know it because there have not been any other official statements or comments released by Microsoft or Ensemble yet.
Halo Wars is due for release in the first half of 2009.
[Update: The closing of the studio has now been officially confirmed]source: shacknews
Last Updated: September 10, 2008
ewie
September 10, 2008 at 09:09
Seems like microsoft is moving everything closer to the. Create one bip team in redmond and then allocate resourses as jou need them. Just to have one big qa department would save 1 mil $ per big game
ocelot
September 10, 2008 at 09:33
So thats Ensemble, Bizzare and Bungie in the space of a year. And yet they still choose to keep RARE 😆
Milesh Bhana ZA
September 10, 2008 at 10:01
I think that MS really wants Microsoft Game Studios to be the next EA or Ubisoft. They get Bungie go because Bungie did not want to be swallowed into MGS (my theory anyway).
Milesh Bhana ZAs last blog post..skate [360]
Fox1
September 10, 2008 at 10:44
Relax guys. MS are making way for a new game studio consisting
of the same leadership team from Ensemble Studios ➡
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/09/10/ensemble-studios-to-close-its-doors-halo-wars-will-remain-unaff/
ocelot
September 10, 2008 at 13:22
So why are MS’s most valued first party devs (Lionhead and Rare) still all the way across the pond?
doobiwan
September 11, 2008 at 00:55
It is a bit odd. It seems thereonly premium development studios are now in the UK: Lionhead, Rare and turn 10
doobiwans last blog post..Have MGS lost their marbles?
doobiwan
September 11, 2008 at 00:58
As I said far more verbosely below, it’s actually a win win for all parties, and especially gamers.
doobiwans last blog post..Have MGS lost their marbles?