It was another sad day in the gaming industry as Ensemble’s Co-founder Bruce Shelly logged on to his blog one last time to say goodbye, and thank their longtime supporters. With the completion of Halo Wars, Ensemble is closing its doors after nearly 15 years in the industry. Bruce noted that while he expects this to be his final blog, there will still be updates at the companies website, www.ensemblestudios.com , giving post Halo Wars support and information on game updates. In his blog, Bruce stated that around 60% of the employees from the original Age of Empires had stayed with the studio to this very day, making for mixed emotions in the office. Bruce wrote, "We are working our way through the final week with mixed emotions. We have a lot to be proud of and new opportunities are beckoning, but it is also sad to see this particular great adventure coming to an end. Boxes are piled in the hallways for trash; people are giving away games and other stuff they don’t want anymore; computers are being wiped; and our corporate IDs are being turned in. Although we will be keeping in touch through some alumni initiatives, many of us may not cross paths again." The blog also noted that there will be two new studios arising from the ashes of Ensemble, but that at the present time there are no further details as to contact information for those studios. He concluded the blog by thanking those that supported them with the purchase of legitimate copies of the games, and giving them feedback to help improve each game. Halo Wars has gone gold and is expected to be released on March 3.
We wish the new teams all the best, and our heart-felt thanks to Ensemble for making some truly incredible games.