Microsoft has confirmed rumors unearthed by Shacknews earlier today. Ensemble Studios will shut down following the the completion of its current project, Halo Wars.
The statement is a weird one, balancing the line between talking up the need to shut down the studio to keep Microsoft Game Studios "on its growth path" while going out of its way to say that the quality of Halo Wars has nothing to do with all this. I have to say, this line really stands out at me...
In fact, many people who have had a chance to test drive Halo Wars agree that it is on track to being a fantastic game.
...are they trying to convince us... or themselves? Well, I'm probably reading way too much into the statement. It can't be easy, writing stuff like that.
It goes on to say that a core group of Ensemble guys are going to form a new studio that will be responsible for post-release support for Halo Wars. Also, Microsoft has stated that it's attempting to place the downsized individuals into new positions.
Get your Shacknews on if you want to see the full statement. Best of luck to all of those who've been impacted by this decision.