The closure comes just months after the September 2008 announcement that Microsoft would be shuttering another internal dev house, Ensemble Studios, known for Age of Empires and the upcoming Halo Wars strategy games.
A rep said in an e-mail, “Following our annual strategy review process, IEB is making adjustments within our business to align our people against our highest priorities. One specific change is we are implementing is the closure of the Aces Studio, which was responsible for the Flight Simulator franchise."
Microsoft has closed or separated itself from numerous studios during the current hardware generation. Aside from Ensemble and Aces, the company also closed down Shadowrun developer FASA and Freelancer developer Digital Anvil. Halo-maker Bungie split from owner Microsoft in 2007, returning to independence.
Word of the studio's closure first appeared on the website Gamasutra. A blog post from ex-Aces developer Phil Taylor, who left the studio for Intel in October 2008, stated that all but six people were fired from Aces. Remaining members will perform an "orderly shutdown and service existing contracts." He said around 100 people were employed there.
The rep added that Microsoft still plans to release more flying games, but offered no further details.
"Regarding the future of Flight Simulator, all we’re announcing at this time is that we are committed to flying games. You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing to announce around Flight Simulator specifically at this time.”