Ensemble Studios Taps Wwise For Halo Wars

Audio solution provider Audiokinetic has announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires franchise) to use its WaveWorks Interactive Sound Engine (Wwise) in the development of highly anticipated RTS Halo Wars. Halo Wars, a real-time strategy game based on Bungie's Halo universe and designed exclusively for Xbox 360, was first announced during Microsoft's X06 press event in September as the latest extension of the company's popular franchise. According to Audiokinetic officials, Ensemble Studios decided to use Wwise in the creation of Halo Wars because the tool makes the development process “flexible and efficient.” Wwise was created by sound experts, and features an optimized sound engine for managing audio processing along with a non-destructive authoring tool for creating audio set structures, managing sound integration, defining both audio propagation and audio behaviors, and creating sound banks. With Wwise, game developers have the flexibility, toolsets and workflow to enhance even the most sophisticated game content. “Wwise is playing a major role in helping Ensemble Studios create the engaging audio experience that we feel Halo Wars deserves,” commented Kevin McMullan, Ensemble Studios' music and sound lead. “Because the support team was so open, responsive and helpful, the integration of Wwise into our development environment was incredibly smooth and easy.” Audiokinetic CTO Nicolas Michaud added, “We are so proud that Wwise represents an ideal choice for Ensemble Studios to use in a high profile game such as Halo Wars... It shows that Wwise delivers a comprehensive solution that applies to the development of any type of game.”