This is on aoe3.heavengames.com if you think i made this up but i didnt.
It what was an incredible shock to myself and much of HG's staff, news surfaced today that Ensemble Studios, makers of Age of Empires, Age of Kings, Age of Empires III, Age of Mythology, and Halo Wars, will disolve following the release of Halo Wars early next year.
Ensemble Studios, which is an in-house department of Microsoft Games, has been responsible for over 20 million game unit sales. They have always maintained a supurb relationship with the gaming community, especially Heavengames, and we are all incredibly sad to see them shutting down.
However all hope is not lost! Much of Ensemble's leadership has decided to open up their own studio under a different name, and they've already partnered with Microsoft to provide post-release service for Halo Wars. In another bit of good news, Microsoft has confirmed that they are trying to find jobs for the various other ES employees that are not leaving to form the new group.
Microsoft has stated that the decision to shut down Ensemble was purely financial and that did not reflect on their talent or ability in any way. Still, I have to wonder what other groups may be closed next, or even more interestingly, what groups were left open instead.
Either way this is a very sad day for gamers who have loved the Age series since it began in 1997. I can remember playing it in middle school myself! Yet since Microsoft owns much of the copyright information for the Age series, it seems unlikely that we will ever see a new "Age of" game.
So, our hats are off to ES for making so many great games that we love, and I, and I'm sure most others, are looking forward to what this new company will release in the future!
It what was an incredible shock to myself and much of HG's staff, news surfaced today that Ensemble Studios, makers of Age of Empires, Age of Kings, Age of Empires III, Age of Mythology, and Halo Wars, will disolve following the release of Halo Wars early next year.
Ensemble Studios, which is an in-house department of Microsoft Games, has been responsible for over 20 million game unit sales. They have always maintained a supurb relationship with the gaming community, especially Heavengames, and we are all incredibly sad to see them shutting down.
However all hope is not lost! Much of Ensemble's leadership has decided to open up their own studio under a different name, and they've already partnered with Microsoft to provide post-release service for Halo Wars. In another bit of good news, Microsoft has confirmed that they are trying to find jobs for the various other ES employees that are not leaving to form the new group.
Microsoft has stated that the decision to shut down Ensemble was purely financial and that did not reflect on their talent or ability in any way. Still, I have to wonder what other groups may be closed next, or even more interestingly, what groups were left open instead.
Either way this is a very sad day for gamers who have loved the Age series since it began in 1997. I can remember playing it in middle school myself! Yet since Microsoft owns much of the copyright information for the Age series, it seems unlikely that we will ever see a new "Age of" game.
So, our hats are off to ES for making so many great games that we love, and I, and I'm sure most others, are looking forward to what this new company will release in the future!
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