Ensemble Studios

Did You Know?

• Ensemble Studios 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 had been working on a Halo MMO, which was cancelled.
• Its last release was Halo Wars for Xbox 360.

History

Tony Goodman founded Ensemble Studios in 1994, borrowing the name from his earlier information technology consulting firm, Ensemble Corporation. The business was incorporated in February 1996 with co-founders Rick Goodman and John Boog-Scott. Early employees included Angelo Laudon, Tim Dean, Brad Crow, Scott Winsett, Thonny Namuonglo, and Brian Sullivan; Bruce Shelley later joined to assist with Age of Empires. In 1997, Goodman sold the consulting firm and released the game with Microsoft, which topped one million units sold by year's end and reached three million copies over its lifetime.

Microsoft acquired Ensemble Studios for $100 million in 2001 after six years and 8.5 million units sold. The studio remained in a Dallas high-rise until April 2008, when Microsoft moved it to a 50,000-square-foot office in Plano designed for 120 employees. In 2008, Goodman learned of Microsoft's plans to close the studio; he declined an offer to buy it back and instead formed a new company. Ensemble announced its closure after Halo Wars' release in 2009, with non-essential staff laid off and remaining staff incentivized to finish the project. Microsoft's internal statement leaked on September 10, 2008, and the studio shut down on January 29, 2009.

Legacy

Several companies emerged from Ensemble Studios after its closure. Rick Goodman left in 1998 to found Stainless Steel Studios, and Brian Sullivan departed in 2000 to start Iron Lore Entertainment, which developed Titan Quest. At the time of Ensemble's shutdown, former employees were forming new ventures. Newtoy, Inc., founded in 2008 by brothers David and Paul Bettner, released Chess With Friends in November 2008 and Words With Friends in August 2009; Zynga acquired it for $53 million in 2011 and renamed it Zynga With Friends.

In February 2009, Tony Goodman and other veterans started Robot Entertainment, which developed Age of Empires Online. Producer David Rippy founded Bonfire Studios, composed entirely of former Ensemble staff; Zynga acquired it in 2010 and renamed it Zynga Dallas. Dusty Monk formed the one-man Windstorm Studios in March 2009, which closed in March 2012, after which Monk joined Robot Entertainment. In June 2013, David Rippy, Scott Winsett, and Bill Jackson formed Boss Fight Entertainment, which developed mobile games and was acquired by Netflix Inc. in 2022; it was shut down in 2025.