Following Microsoft's
recently announced plans to close
Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios, the company's restating its ownership of the Ensemble-developed
Age of Empires IP and hinting at future announcements regarding the franchise.
"If you’re a PC gamer, you’ve likely played some version of
Age of Empires somewhere along the line. I want to reassure you that Microsoft will still own the
Age of Empires intellectual property,"
wrote a Microsoft rep on the company's official Gamerscore blog.
"As a company, we’re very excited about the future potential for
Age of Empires, and as a PC gamer I’m looking forward to what that future holds. Stay tuned."
Although Ensemble is the third studio Microsoft's lost following its
split with Bungie and the
FASA closure, Microsoft yesterday stressed that the Ensemble closure does not represent a move on the company's part away from an investment in development.
Ensemble Studios will close after
Halo Wars is completed, though its execs plan to form a new, independent organization that will support the game after launch. Microsoft
has said it hopes to place employees not joining the new studio within Microsoft Game Studios.
