Sad news reached our inboxes today informing us that Ensemble Studios, currently in the process of developing Halo Wars, will be shut down once the aforementioned game is completed.

The full statement from Microsoft, via Shacknews:

Microsoft has decided to close Ensemble Studios following the completion of Halo Wars. After the closure, the Ensemble leadership team will form a new studio and has agreed to provide ongoing support for Halo Wars as well as work on other projects with Microsoft Game Studios.

The team at Ensemble has made invaluable contributions to the games industry with their Age of Empires and Age of Mythology games and with the highly anticipated release of Halo Wars. This decision does not reflect at all on Ensembles talent or the quality of Halo Wars. in fact, many people who have had a chance to test drive Halo Wars agree that it is on track to being a fantastic game.

This was a fiscally-rooted decision that keeps MGS on its growth path. While the decision to dissolve Ensemble was not an easy one, Microsoft is working to place as many Ensemble employees who do not move to the newly formed studio into open positions within Microsoft as possible.

As to our overall strategy at MGS, it remains the same. We are committed to growing MGS with world-class talent both internally and with our external partners around the globe. We have recently added some well-known developers to our team and will continue growing the team. Were particularly excited about the titles we have in the pipeline and continue to evaluate additional opportunities to bring incredible games to life with the industrys best. Our investment in games has never been greater than it is today.

Founded in 1995, Ensemble Studios is most famous for producing the blockbuster Age of Empires series. Microsoft acquired the studio in 2001, however it seems the developer has run its course and Microsoft no longer have a need for them.

Microsoft shut down FASA Studios earlier in the year, developer most recently of Shadowrun, the first cross-platform title for PC and 360 gamers. Microsoft have also sold off BioWare and Bizarre to third party publishers, with Bungie being sold to themselves. This leaves just a few studios under Microsoft’s wing, including Lionhead Studios, Turn 10 Studios and Rare, all of whom are working on new 360-only titles.

It seems Microsoft might be subtly shifting its focus, dedicating more time to the Xbox franchise, turning its back on the PC side of things that it was once renowned for. Is this a good move? Only time will tell.