Tony Goodman, the co-founder of Ensemble Studios has started a new company called Robot Entertainment, according to Gamasutra.
Microsoft-owned Ensemble Studios is famous for nurturing the Age of Empires series and has recently contributed to the upcoming release Halo Wars. Microsoft shut down the studio in September of 2008 after it had completed developing Halo Wars. The reason for this move by Microsoft was given as a “fiscally-rooted decision that keeps [Microsoft Game Studios] on its growth path.”
The home page of Robot Entertainment is plain and simple at the moment and is pictured above. “The founders of Ensemble Studios, creators of the award-winning series Age of Empires and Halo Wars, proudly present a new endeavor…”, it reads.
There is no news yet about what kind of games will be picked up by the newly the formed company. But it will interesting to see if the chaps over at Robot Entertainment stick to strategy or try a few new ventures. Goodman offered a number of ES employees a position at Robot Entertainment. And at the moment, they are not hiring.
Ensemble was founded in 1995 by Tony Goodman and Bruce Shelley and was taken over by Microsoft in 2001. Speaking about the new company, Shelley said he believes “the spirit and mission of [Ensemble] will be carried forward in this new company if enough of the key leaders agree to take part,” which he expects to happen.