Microsoft Acquires Ensemble Studios

Ensemble, best known for the Age of Empires series, published by Microsoft, will continue to be based in its Dallas headquarters. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The news came on the heels of the official announcement that Microsoft will publish the third game in Ensemble's Ages series, Age of Mythology, based the mythology of ancient Greece and formerly known only as "RTS3." No release date has been set. Ensemble joins other Microsoft game-studio acquisitions such as FASA Interactive of MechWarrior fame; Access Software, known for the Links golf simulation games; and Bungie Software, creators of the Myth series, Oni, and the forthcoming Halo.