In September, Microsoft announced its intentions to shut down Ensemble Studios. This move seemed unexpected to many, especially considering that the developer was in the middle of finishing up Halo Wars and had been responsible for the multimillion unit selling Age of Empires series. In an interview with Shacknews, Ensemble director of technology Dave Pottinger conveyed that the closing was just as much a shock to them as it was to anyone else.

"Personally, we all disagree with the decision," said Pottinger. "It honestly doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's their prerogative. After they told us they were closing us, we tried to do some things that--there's at least one studio that's starting with a good chunk of the Ensemble people, about half. And that's the studio that's contracted for support for Halo Wars. So the cool thing about that is, from a buyer standpoint, Halo Wars isn't going to just be shoved out there. But it's also helped I think to really solidify people in terms of getting the game done in the first place."

"We know that a good number of people are going to have to live with the cooking, so to speak, and so we've really been able to keep people focused on making it a great game. Losing your job is never good, but the best thing about the team's dedication is, we had a hundred full-time people when the announcement was made--we've lost three since then," he continued. "Those were three people that--you know, everyone at Ensemble is important, we don't want to lose anybody. But we had feared losing 30 or 40, and I think it's a testament to the strength of Ensemble--and I guess maybe the mistake that Microsoft is making, if you want to look at it that way--that so many people stuck around to see this game out, and kind of make Ensemble go out the right way."

The closing of Ensemble also seems to be at odds with what Michael Wolf, Games for Windows - Live Senior Marketing Manager, recently said to GameDaily BIZ about the PC being "the cradle of innovation." After all, if Microsoft is serious about supporting innovation, why close a creative and successful team like Ensemble?