Microsoft To Close Ensemble News

Following rumours over the last 24 hours, Microsoft has now confirmed that it will be closing Ensemble Studios once the developer finishes work on its upcoming RTS, Halo Wars.

"Microsoft has decided to close Ensemble Studios following the completion of Halo Wars," the company revealed in a statement. "After the closure, the Ensemble leadership team will form a new studio and has agreed to provide ongoing support for Halo Wars as well as work on other projects with Microsoft Game Studios."

It seems like a bit of an abrupt ending for a developer that has produced some much loved RTS games since it was founded in 1995. Examples include the three Age of Empires games, which schooled many an RTS gamer over the last decade.

Apparently the decision was "fiscally-rooted", which is a relief - at least Microsoft isn't closing its developers' doors on a whim. While Ensemble's leadership team will form a new studio according to the statement, it also suggests that some employees may lose their jobs over the decision:

"This was a fiscally-rooted decision that keeps MGS on its growth path. 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."

All this without Ensemble even being able to prove its worth with the upcoming release of Halo Wars, which might make Microsoft seem a little silly if it's heralded as the best console RTS in history upon release.