Halo Wars Devs Shocked at Closure

[blackdelsol94]

Halo Wars Devs Shocked at Closure
Ensemble staff disappointed by Microsoft's decision.
by Martin Robinson, IGN UK

UK, September 23, 2008 - Bruce Shelley of Ensemble Studios has broken his silence about Microsoft's decision to close the studio upon Halo War's completion, saying that he and the team are both 'shocked' and 'disappointed' about the imminent end of one of most revered real time strategy developers.

"We thought we were among the best studios in the world, and that may be true, but we don't fit in the future plans of MGS as an internal studio so we're out," said Shelley in a candid post on his official blog. "The new leadership of the game group at Microsoft has a new plan for making the game group consistently profitable," he continued, "and we are the odd group out."

Ensemble are busy applying the finishing touches to Halo Wars, but beyond that the future is uncertain for a team that earned many accolades with the Age of Empires series. "Studio head Tony Goodman has a plan to start a new independent studio following the end of ES and a number of the existing ES employees have been offered a position in this company," said Shelley.

[tha_con]

Well, I honestly see this as something good. The storm may come, but they will persevere and come out on top. MS is currently in this "buy out 3rd party exclusives and DLC" phase, and it's going to hurt them in the long run.

Someone will pick up these guys, they are all talented. Microsoft may cash out now, but I honestly hope Halo Wars under performs, MS really deserves it right now.

[NegroDamus]

Corps suck.

[blackdelsol94]

Originally Posted by tha_con

Well, I honestly see this as something good. The storm may come, but they will persevere and come out on top. MS is currently in this "buy out 3rd party exclusives and DLC" phase, and it's going to hurt them in the long run.

Someone will pick up these guys, they are all talented. Microsoft may cash out now, but I honestly hope Halo Wars under performs, MS really deserves it right now.

I understand Microsoft's logic on not wanting to own too many developers, but I don't necessarily agree with it.

At any rate, I agree, this might be for the better. It may turn out that Ensemble has greater freedom in future projects, etc. Although I'm sure working for a company with as much resources (aka $$$) as Microsoft wouldn't hurt...

[NegroDamus]

EA will snatch them.

[blackdelsol94]

Originally Posted by NegroDamus

EA will snatch them.

Or Activision, now larger than EA. Kind of a scary thought...

[blackdelsol94]

Ensemble Studios Thought it Was 'Immune' to Shutdown from Microsoft
Ensemble founder Bruce Shelley and the rest of the team were "shocked" by the news from Microsoft. Their games have always sold well, so they thought they were safe.
by James Brightman on Monday, September 22, 2008


Earlier this month, we reported on the unfortunate closure of Ensemble Studios by Microsoft. The developer known for Age of Empires is to be shuttered once it finishes work on Halo Wars.

The news certainly came as a surprise to us, but it was a much bigger shock for Ensemble members, according to Ensemble founder Bruce Shelley, who recently wrote on his blog how he and his colleagues at the studio felt when Microsoft dropped the bomb.

"I have mentioned with regret the closing of several quality game studios over the past several years but I never considered that ES would join the list. Everyone at our studio was shocked, and I think remains very disappointed that this is going to happen. I believe we thought we were immune to shut-down talk because our published games have done so well and have been so profitable," he said. "Plus we felt we had built a really stable (low-turnover), talented, hard-working, and creative team, which is not easy to do. We thought we were among the best studios in the world, and that may be true, but we don't fit in the future plans of MGS as an internal studio so we're out."

Shelley continued, "A senior executive of MGS addressed the studio in early September and gave us the news. He did not go into a lot of detail about why, but basically the decision, as I understand it, was based on several major factors. First, they want to divert the headcount tied up in ES and the costs that are expected to be required to run ES for the next few years into other projects. Second, it sounded like it cost more to run ES on a per person basis than other first party studios (Rare, Lionhead, Forza, Flight Sim) putting us at a disadvantage. (Plus they avoid the expense of a new office that we were planning.) And third, games those studios are expected to deliver in the next few years are expected to be more strategic and profitable to the company than anything we would be finishing after Halo Wars."

Shelley did note that there may be openings for some of Ensemble's staff at other studios within MGS, and he revealed that one member, studio head Tony Goodman, is planning to launch a new independent studio following the closure of Ensemble and he's already offered positions to many of the current Ensemble employees. Shelley is not expecting to join this company, however, he said.

[blackdelsol94]

Thoughts on Ensemble Closure
The PC guys reflect on the coming loss of one of the great RTS devs of all time.
by IGN PC Team

September 10, 2008 - If you go to the Ensemble Studios web site, you're welcomed with the following words. "In 1997 a small group of people came together in Texas to form Ensemble Studios, and make a new kind of RTS game. The first Age of Empires surprised the critics, developed a major fan base, and went on to sell over a million copies. With each release of Age of Empires and Age of Mythology our success has grown along with our fans and community."

"Today we celebrate selling 20 Million copies of the Age of Empires franchise and we want to thank you our fans for making that possible. We hope to keep entertaining you and playing games with you for many years to come."

Unfortunately, that wish to make games for years to come is coming to an end, as Microsoft has confirmed that it will shutter the studio once Halo Wars ships for the Xbox 360. It's a sad end to one of the successful and popular game studios, one that focused most of its output on the PC. Ensemble debuted on the scene in 1997 with the stunning Age of Empires, a real-time strategy game that focused on ancient history and blew gamers away with its huge number of units and gorgeous, colorful graphics. In 1999 came Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, an even more successful sequel that focused on the medieval era. In 2002, Ensemble detoured into the fantastical with Age of Mythology before returning to its historical roots with Age of Empires III. In addition, Ensemble made five expansion packs to its games.

Microsoft has said that it will form a new studio with members of Ensemble, but there are sure to be layoffs, and the proud name of Ensemble Studios will disappear from the map of the industry.

Jason's Thoughts
It's a bit bewildering how a studio with such a past record of success and acclaim manages to get shuttered. In 2001, Ensemble was acquired by Microsoft and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the software giant. Since it made a popular product and was part of one of the most powerful companies on Earth, it seemed that Ensemble was in an enviable position. Unfortunately, reality turned out to be much different. I don't understand why Microsoft plans on just forming a new studio with Ensemble veterans. Why throw away a respected and admired name?

It seemed like a great place to work, too. Ensemble was situated atop an officer tower in Dallas, and the entire theme of the office was based on the starship Enterprise, right down to the cool little elevator-to-the-elevator that brought you through a darkened corridor to the curved girders in the hallways. Ensemble seemed like a place where a lot of smart people had fun making great games. It's a huge loss that it's going away.

Steve's Thoughts
This is a sad day for PC gaming. I remember talking with the MS Games Division guys back when they bought Ensemble in 2001. At the time, Microsoft seemed to be buying everyone--FASA, Bungie, Digital Anvil had all already been gobbled up by the publisher, so it wasn't really a big shock that Ensemble, fresh from the success of Age of Kings, attracted a purchase offer. It was all part of Microsoft's efforts to, in its own words, strengthen its PC catalog. For a while it worked. After delivering the engine used in Star Wars' take on Age of Empire to LucasArts, Ensemble created an entirely new engine and scored a big success with Age of Mythology and years later pushed the graphical boundaries of the RTS with another new engine for Age of Empires III. By anyone's estimation, the Age series is one of the most successful, enjoyable and innovative series in the RTS genre.

It stinks that the studio will be closed and that the "leadership team" absorbed into the Microsoft Games Studios monolith. Sure, it streamlines things and I know it saves money and effort in the development process, but it also contributes to a much more narrow, more generic vision. We saw this same thing happen with EA and Westwood and its beloved RTS series. A small company shakes things up and has an amazing success. Once it gets big and profitable, it attracts the attention of big publishers who simply want to come in and buy up the franchise and the talent so that it can reap the benefits of future titles. But because the big publisher has so much invested it doesn't want its newly acquired studio to take any risks, and the risks that do make it through have to be scrutinized and compromised by the opinions of investors who know more about business than about game development. Then when the new game is panned, the publishers sit around blaming the development studio. Even in the best of cases, it only hurts the legitimacy and character of the brand. At least they didn't just make a new studio called Microsoft Dallas. Yet.

They say this move keeps MGS on a growth track, but I honestly don't think that the studio was closed due to lack of profitability. If you look at the sales of the Age series, even over the last few years, it seems like it's enough to justify keeping the studio open. Obviously there's no column for "sentiment" on the balance sheets, but I think the problem is that this is a PC-oriented studio and MS doesn't make PC games anymore. Look no further than its current project, Halo Wars. Whatever the justification for the closure, it severely undercuts Microsoft's already paper thin commitment to PC gaming and calls into question whether Halo Wars will be a fitting capper to this studio's history. Seriously, how hard would you work on a game if you knew that you were getting fired once it was completed?

This bit about "many people who have had a chance to test drive Halo Wars agree that it is on track to being a fantastic game" makes me angry. They might just as well add, "And once it's completed, we're locking the doors." MGS just seems to care more about potential profitability than public perception and it's a real shame that Ensemble, one of my favorite RTS developers, had to become a casualty to that way of thinking.