Ensemble Studios: The End of a Legacy

Ensemble Studios, creator of the Age of Empires series all the way to the upcoming Halo Wars game, has been a dominating developer for Real Time Strategy (RTS) games. Ensemble cranked out a total of ten RTS games including Halo Wars and expansion packs, most if not all of which were high-rated top sellers.

[thereapersson]

Age of Empires was an amazing RTS experience that nearly everyone I know has played at least once in their lives.

You will be missed!

[Perjoss]

In the case of Ensamble I think the jobs are mostly safe, but as for other teams falling apart in the industry, they are not totally lost, the talented people will most likely get snapped up into other teams here and there. Maybe not right away because of the 'economic climate' but sooner or later they will be back somewhere doing what they do best. Age of Empires and Age of Mythology were some of my favorite RTS games.

[Firstkn1ghT]

The only thing that ends is the name Ensemble Studios. The original team are going to create 2 new teams, one that will continue with Halo Wars and the other with newer projects.

[lelo]

Actually ... it's true ... according to Fudzilla...

http://www.fudzilla.com/ind...

PS. BTW Halo Wars looks solid and i hope a new Age of Empires is on it's way.

[Fishy Fingers]

Well the lead is going off to produce his own Independent Development house (even mentions so in the article) which he has offered many of the Ensemble staff positions in. Where are you getting your information? Links please.

Edit: Lelo saved you a job. Bit weird, articles seem to contradict themselves, perhaps they'll be independent but still somewhat under the MS wing, a bit like Bungie. Fudzilla dont seem to be able to confirm any of this mind.

Either way, it's a shame for the RTS fans out there.

[DJ]

A few members get absorbed into another Microsoft studio, some go off to create a new independent studio, and the rest are left without a job. It's not just about the individual members, it's about the team. The team worked really well together and generated huge sales for Microsoft.

It just makes absolutely no sense. It's like telling your production department "Hey, you guys have been keeping us afloat and doing a stand up job. We've made plenty of money. You're all fired! Thank you!"

[Dzpool]

This is why game sales numbers mean so much a great game that sells bad can cause a developer to have to cut jobs. Where a good to average game that sells great can cause an increase in jobs and games being produced under the developer.