Despite the iconic studios closure Ensemble will survive, reform and help Microsoft Game Studios with technical support for Halo Wars.
Lead Producer Jason Pace has said MGS are ”really interested” in keeping a relationship with the new Ensemble. There are rumours they could even handle more Age of Empires.
”Ensemble is, as I’m sure you know, forming a new company, and they will be helping us support the title moving forward, so: bug patches, any kind of fixes - we’ll have all those folks available to work on it,” Microsoft’s Pace told Eurogamer.
”As a studio right now, we’re talking about what we’d like to do to carry this game forward. We’re really excited about this game. We obviously have a lot of ideas of areas we’d like to go.”
For Microsoft the newbie Halo Wars franchise is just as important as the Bungie developed veteran shooters, and they won’t shy away from helping it stand apart from the IPs origins.
”…I can tell you from the perspective of the franchise that we’re very excited about all of the potential that it has,” noted Pace.
”Halo Wars is a triple-A title for the franchise. The way we conceive it is absolutely on par with one of the first-person shooter games.”
As for the new Ensemble rising from the ashes of the old? ”I can tell you right now that we are really interested in continuing our relationship with Ensemble. We don’t have anything finalised that I can discuss, but certainly that is something we’d love to continue if possible,” he added.
Pace wouldn’t comment on rumours this new Ensemble could land work on future Age of Empire titles.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz