That's why when Microsoft execs recently told the studio it would be shutting it down, employees were so taken aback, says studio figurehead Bruce Shelley.
"Everyone at our studio was shocked, and I think remains very disappointed that this is going to happen," wrote Ensemble founder Shelley in his blog on Monday.
"I believe we thought we were immune to shutdown talk because our published games have done so well and have been so profitable." He also said a low-turnover rate and ample talent also made him believe the studio was safe.
But that wasn't the case. "We thought we were among the best studios in the world, and that may be true, but we don’t fit in the future plans of MGS as an internal studio so we’re out."
While Microsoft's official line regarding the closure was rather vague, Shelley went into further detail:
- First, they want to divert the headcount tied up in ES and the costs that are expected to be required to run ES for the next few years into other projects.
- Second, it sounded like it cost more to run [Ensemble] on a per person basis than other first party studios (Rare, Lionhead, Forza, Flight Sim) putting us at a disadvantage. (Plus they avoid the expense of a new office that we were planning.)
- And third, games those studios are expected to deliver in the next few years are expected to be more strategic and profitable to the company than anything we would be finishing after Halo Wars.
Shelley will not be part of that venture.
For now, Shelley says that "all hands" are on deck to complete Halo Wars by the end of the year, a game that will be Ensemble's swan song after a dozen years of operation.