Ensemble Studios

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Ensemble Studios

Type	Video game developer
Founded	1995
Headquarters	Dallas, Texas
Key people	Tony Goodman Rick Goodman
Industry	computer and video game industry
Products	video games
Website	www.ensemblestudios.com

Ensemble Studios is a Microsoft-owned company that has developed several computer games, including the famous Age of Empires series.

[edit] Games

The company is the developer of the famous Age of Empires series of real-time strategy games, composed of 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 in 2002. Expansion packs were also released for all their games.

Ensemble released "Age of Empires III", on October 18, 2005, in North America. This follows on from the end of Age of Empires II, set in times such as the Industrial Age. The lead-up to the game's announcement was a series of teasers on Ensemble's website, culminating in a number of in-game screenshots. The game has sold over 3 million copies as of February 1, and has become the fastest selling game of the series.

Their latest game is an expansion to Age of Empires III, titled Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs. It includes new content, new gameplay elements, a new single-player campaign, and 3 new native American civilizations. It was originally set for an October 2, 2006 release, but was released later, on October 17, 2006.

Ensemble is also working on a real-time strategy game based on the successful Halo franchise, called Halo Wars.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Ensemble Studios occupies the top two floors of its building in Dallas, Texas.
According to Sandy Petersen at the Age of Kings Heaven website, approximately 10% of the company's employees are parents.
Mike McCart, the company's webmaster, created the HeavenGames (then known as HeavenWeb) fan site, prior to being hired by ES.