Microsoft Closes Ensemble Studios
First Microsoft let Bungie roam free, and now the computer giant is making another questionable decision about its games division. Yesterday Microsoft sent out an email to its employees with the news that it would be closing down Ensemble Studios after their work on the upcoming Halo Wars game is complete. Ensemble Studios has been on the forefront of the RTS genre since the company started in 1995 with its Age of Empires series. The closure will begin by letting go Ensemeble Studios employees not currently working on Halo Wars, and after the game's completion those employees too will be let go. Microsoft notes in the email that the closure is a purely financial and business decision and has no reflection on Ensemble Studios itself. However, because it is a financial decision, Microsoft will be unable to keep all Ensemble Studios employees with Microsoft Games Studio, though it hopes to keep as many employees as possible. Though the email states that Ensemble Studios employees will continue to work on Halo Wars until it's done, there is no mention regarding the future of the Age of Empires or Age of Mythology series.
The full email can be found after the jump.
"Unfortunately, our decision to close Ensemble will adversely impact many of the studio's team members. Following the closure, the Ensemble leadership team will form a new entity and have agreed to partner with Microsoft to develop future products and provide support for Halo Wars post launch. While the new company will be hiring a portion of the Ensemble employees, its size and resources prevent it from offering positions to the entire Ensemble team. We hope to integrate much of this creative talent into MGS or the broader IEB team, where we have relevant openings."Ensemble Studios has produced many notable games over the years - including the Ages franchise - that have helped MGS become a leader in interactive entertainment. And now, Halo Wars is already proving to be a hit by people who have seen and played early versions of the game. The Ensemble team is committed to continuing its development, testing and support of Halo Wars through to the completion of halo wars. We're also working closely with the studio's leaders to ensure a smooth launch of the game in early 2009 and continuing support thereafter. We will support the studio in every way possible as they work to deliver this highly anticipated game.
"This action notwithstanding, I want to emphasize that the overall investment Microsoft is making in video game development is not diminished, and we will continue to bring in talent to work on titles and franchises where we'll see the most ROI. Our priority is to continue to nurture the creative freedom that allows us to successfully drive our business strategy forward. Meanwhile, we're launching some outstanding games over the next few months. We've just launched Too Human and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, and soon we'll see many other games hit retail store shelves, including Scene It! 2, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Lips and, of course, Halo Wars.
"I want to thank you for your hard work and focus as we head into the next few months and make this a blowout year for first-party games. Please be supportive and respectful of our Ensemble colleagues as they go through this tough time.
"Phil"
Phil Spencer: Ensemble Closure is "Right Thing For Our Business" [Gamesindustry.biz]
NaviFairy
Posted to Video Games on 10 September 2008
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: Ensemble Studios, Halo Wars, microsoft
Wow! This is asinine. Microsoft is really fucking over PC Games to try to sell more of their Red Ring Boxes. I can't believe a studio with such a great track record got shut down.
That's too bad, Age of Empires II and its expansion are one of my favorite games ever.
Sigh... there goes my hope for age of mythology 2...