Ensemble Studios

Ensemble Studios
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded1994 (1994)
FounderTony Goodman
DefunctJanuary 29, 2009 (2009-01-29)
FateDefunct
HeadquartersDallas, Texas, U.S.
ProductsAge of Empires
Age of Mythology
Halo Wars
OwnerMicrosoft
ParentMicrosoft Game Studios

Ensemble Studios was an American video game developer. Ensemble developed many real-time strategy games, including the Age of Empires game series, Age of Mythology, and Halo Wars. It was acquired by Microsoft in 2001 and was shut down in 2009.

In addition to game development, Ensemble Studios also developed the Genie Game Engine used in Age of Empires, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. The studio sold 20 million games and was worth an estimated $500 million.[1]

History

Ensemble Studios was founded by Tony Goodman in 1994. It borrowed the name of Ensemble Corporation, an information technology consulting firm founded by Goodman in 1991.[2] The business was incorporated in February 1996 with his brother Rick Goodman and John Boog-Scott as co-founders. Angelo Laudon, Tim Dean, Brad Crow, Scott Winsett, Thonny Namuonglo, and Brian Sullivan were among the studio's first employees. Bruce Shelley also came on to help with Age of Empires. In 1997, Goodman sold off the consulting firm and released the game with Microsoft.[3] The game topped one million units sold by the end of the year, and sold three million copies during its lifetime.[4]

After six years and 8.5 million units sold, Microsoft acquired Ensemble Studios for $100 million in 2001.[5][6] Ensemble remained at its original location in a high-rise office in Dallas, Texas,[7] until April 2008 when Microsoft moved it to the Shops at Legacy in Plano. Their office was 50,000 square feet and designed to house 120 employees.[8]

In 2008, Goodman was told about Microsoft's plans to close Ensemble. He was offered the opportunity to buy back the studio but declined. Instead, he chose to form a new company and continue working with Microsoft on Age of Empires.[3] Ensemble had been working on a Halo MMO, which was cancelled.[9]

Ensemble announced that it would close after the release of Halo Wars in 2009. According to multiple independent reports, all non-essential staff were laid off and remaining staff were given incentives to remain until the completion of the project.[10] Microsoft issued an internal statement on September 10, 2008 which was then leaked to the public.[11] The company shut down on January 29, 2009.[12]

Games

Ensemble Studios developed the Age of Empires game series of real-time strategy titles, comprising Age of Empires, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings and Age of Empires III. They also released Age of Mythology, a spin-off from the original series. Expansion packs were also released for all its games including two for Age of Empires III. Its last release was the real-time strategy game called Halo Wars for Xbox 360.

Release
Date		 Title Genre
1997 Age of Empires real-time strategy
1998 Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome expansion pack
1999 Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings real-time strategy
2000 Age of Empires II: The Conquerors expansion pack
2001 Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds real-time strategy
2002 Age of Mythology real-time strategy
2002 Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Clone Campaigns expansion pack
2003 Age of Mythology: The Titans expansion pack
2005 Age of Empires III real-time strategy
2006 Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs expansion pack
2007 Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties[13] expansion pack
2009 Halo Wars real-time strategy
Cancelled Titan (Halo MMO)[14][15] massively multiplayer online game
Sorcerer[9][4] fantasy-adventure RPG
Nova[9]
Wrench[9][16] platform game
Bam[9]
Agent[9]

Legacy

Many development companies have originated from Ensemble Studios.[3] In 1998, Rick Goodman left the company and started a new independent studio, Stainless Steel Studios.[4][17] In 2000, Brian Sullivan left Ensemble Studios and started a new independent studio, Iron Lore Entertainment, to develop the action role-playing game Titan Quest.[18]

At the time of the studio's closure, several former employees were in the process of starting their own companies.[19]

Newtoy, Inc., was formed in 2008 by brothers David and Paul Bettner,[20] developers from Ensemble.[21] The McKinney, Texas-based company released Chess With Friends for the iPhone in November 2008[22] and the wildly popular Words With Friends in August 2009.[23] In 2011, Zynga acquired Newtoy for $53 million[24] and renamed the company Zynga With Friends, a moniker off of Newtoy's successful 'with friends' series.[25] The brothers left the company in 2012.[26] Paul started a company in 2013 to develop for the Android-based Ouya gaming system.[20]

In February 2009, Goodman and a number of Ensemble veterans started a new independent studio, Robot Entertainment.[27] It developed the free-to-play Age of Empires Online for Microsoft.[28] At the same time, producer David Rippy started Bonfire Studios, composed entirely of former Ensemble staff members.[29] Bonfire was acquired by Zynga in 2010 and renamed Zynga Dallas.[30]

In March 2009, ex-staffer Dusty Monk formed Windstorm Studios, a one-man company.[31] It closed on March 21, 2012, and Monk joined Robot Entertainment.[32]

In June 2013, David Rippy, Scott Winsett, and Bill Jackson formed Boss Fight Entertainment.[33] The company developed mobile games and was located in McKinney, Texas. It was acquired by Netflix Inc. in 2022.[34] After developing Netflix Stories and Squid Game: Unleashed, the studio was shut down in 2025.[35]

Technology

References

  1. ↑ "The Death of Ensemble Studios". Edge. Future plc. February 20, 2009. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ Keefer, John (March 31, 2006). "GameSpy Retro: Developer Origins, Page 18 of 19". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 Ramsay, Morgan (April 23, 2012). "Ensemble Studios: From Beginning to End, An Excerpt from Gamers at Work". Game Developer. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Goodfellow, Troy S. (December 16, 2008). "Age of Ensemble, Part 1: A Titan Passes". www.crispygamer.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Microsoft to acquire Ensemble Studios". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2001.
  6. ↑ Tanner, Lisa (February 17, 2008). "Ensemble's success spurred acquisition by Microsoft". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Dallas creators of PC gaming hit Age of Empires bought by Microsoft". Dallas Business Journal. May 4, 2001. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016. Microsoft Corp. has agreed to buy Ensemble Studios Inc., the Dallas-based software developer responsible for the top-selling Age of Empires game franchise. Microsoft, of Redmond, Wash., said Friday that Ensemble will continue to create titles from its Dallas headquarters.
  8. ↑ Webster, Stephen (December 27, 2007). "Ensemble Studios moving to Plano". Dallas Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016. Ensemble Studios ... plans to relocate its operations to the Shops at Legacy in Plano, according to published reports.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zelfden, Evan Van (February 2, 2009). "Ensemble Studios: The Last Tour". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
  10. ↑ Breckon, Nick (September 9, 2008). "Ensemble Studios rumoured to be closing". Shacknews. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Read the 'Ensemble Studios, You're Done Here' Email from Microsoft". Kotaku. September 10, 2008. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Bruce Shelley : Halo Wars on Schedule - Wrapping up Soon". Ensemble Studios Blog. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  13. ↑ Co-developed with Big Huge Games.
  14. ↑ "Exclusive: Ensemble Studios' Canceled Project Was Halo MMO". GamaSutra. September 23, 2008. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Ensemble Games prototype; 2005-2007 (Pictures)". Flickr. December 9, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Ensemble Studios - "Wrench" Prototype Graphics/Physics Demo". youtube.com. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  17. ↑ Loughrey, Paul (November 28, 2005). "Stainless Steel Studios closes its doors". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  18. ↑ Gibson, Ellie (May 3, 2006). "Remember the Titans". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Bruce Shelley : Ensemble Studios Closing". Ensemble Studios Blog. Archived from the original on November 18, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  20. 1 2 Takahashi, Dean (February 7, 2013). "Words With Friends co-creator Paul Bettner starts a studio to focus on Ouya console games (exclusive interview)". GamesBeat. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Newtoy". newtoyinc.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  22. ↑ Snow, Jean (November 14, 2008). "Halo Wars Devs Form iPhone Game Studio". wired.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  23. ↑ Harrison, Kent (August 5, 2009). "Newtoy releases Words With Friends 1.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch". prmac.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  24. ↑ Handrahan, Matthew (July 5, 2011). "Zynga paid $53.3 million for Newtoy". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  25. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (December 3, 2010). "In 7th deal in seven months, Zynga acquires mobile game company Newtoy". GamesBeat. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  26. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (October 5, 2012). "Words With Friends co-creators leave Zynga". GamesBeat. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  27. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (February 13, 2009). "Ensemble Veterans Form Robot Entertainment". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on November 9, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  28. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (August 17, 2010). "Microsoft goes free-to-play with Age of Empires Online; announces Microsoft Flight flying game". GamesBeat. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  29. ↑ Nutt, Christian (February 20, 2009). "Ensemble Veterans Assemble Bonfire". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on November 12, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  30. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (October 6, 2010). "Zynga buys Bonfire Studios and sets up Dallas game studio". GamesBeat. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  31. ↑ Jenkins, David (March 19, 2009). "Third New Studio Emerges From Ensemble Closure". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on May 11, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Windstorm Studios - Home". Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  33. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (February 3, 2014). "Venture Beat: Leaders of the undead Zynga Dallas team start Boss Fight Entertainment". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  34. ↑ Spangler, Todd (March 24, 2022). "Netflix Acquires Its Third Game Studio, Boss Fight Entertainment". Variety. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  35. ↑ Kerr, Chris (October 26, 2025). "Netflix shuts down Boss Fight Entertainment". Game Developer. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
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