Ensemble Studios
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
Ensemble Studios was a game studio known for the Age of Empires series. The studio was disbanded in 2008, following the release of Halo Wars. A majority of studio's former employees moved to Robot Entertainment.
History
Origin and acquisition by Microsoft
The studio founded in 1995 in Dallas by Tony Goodman, his brother, Rick Goodman, Bruce Shelley, and Brian Sullivan. The studio released its first game, Age of Empires, after two years of operation. The game was well received by the gaming community at the time, establishing a venerable reputation for Ensemble as a leading real-time strategy developer.
In May 2001, the studio was acquired by Microsoft.[1] Under Microsoft till 2007, Ensemble developed their last Age of Empires title and Age of Mythology, a spin-off from the series.
The company cooperated with Bungie to create one of the three new Halo game projects; Halo Wars. Ensemble designed the entire game, with Bungie played a minor supporting role to ensure that the story fit in properly with the Halo universe.
On September 10, 2008, Ensemble Studios announced that it would be closing a short while after Halo Wars is finished. Dave Pottinger, Lead Designer of Halo Wars, issued a response assuring that the quality of the game should not be affected. Pottinger's response can be found on the home page of Halo Wars. Post-release support for the game is being provided by Robot Entertainment, where roughly half of Ensemble's crew went after the close.
Developing Halo Wars and closure
In 2007, Ensemble spent 12-18 months prototyping their Age of Mythology engine to experiment with the concept of a real-time strategy mechanics on a console. The studio concluded the experimentation with the concept of a centralized user interface system and settled for micromanagement and base-building and restricted resource gathering and management to bases. These game mechanics were presented to Microsoft shortly after. Microsoft, being risk-averse at the time, pressured Ensemble to rebrand their formerly original game as a Halo titles. Microsoft doubted that a real-time strategy game on a console could achieve adequate sales otherwise. This decision by Microsoft created a breakdown in relationship between Ensemble Studios and Bungie Studios.[note 1]
List of games
| Name | Release Date | Genre |
|---|---|---|
| Age of Empires | 1997 | RTS (Real-time strategy) |
| Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome | 1998 | Expansion pack |
| Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings | 1999 | RTS |
| Age of Empires II: The Conquerors | 2000 | Expansion pack |
| Age of Mythology | 2002 | RTS |
| Age of Mythology: The Titans | 2003 | Expansion pack |
| Age of Empires III | 2005 | RTS |
| Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs | 2006 | Expansion pack |
| Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties | 2007 | Expansion pack |
| Halo Wars | 2009 | RTS |
| Untitled Halo MMO | Canceled |
MMORPG |
Known employees
Note
- ^ Ensemble Studios was keen on using their novel game mechanics for an original title. This was denied by Microsoft, whom suggested that the game would sell better as a Halo title. Bungie on the other hand was discontent with Microsoft's decision of forcing the Halo intellectual property to be in a different genre. This lead to their buy-out in 2007.
Sources
- ^ Gamespot: Microsoft to acquire Ensemble Studios
- ^ Co-developed with Big Huge Games.
