Ensemble Studios

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

Overview
The company was founded in 1995, in Dallas, Texas, by Tony Goodman, his brother, Rick Goodman, Bruce Shelley, and Brian Sullivan. After 2 years, it released its first game, Age of Empires. In May 2001, Microsoft acquired the company. Currently, the company employs about 100 people, including Bruce Shelley, Graeme Devine and Sandy Petersen.

Ensemble is notable for its play-testing procedures: everyone at the company is required to test the current product at least once a week.

The company has a varied employee background. Its workers range from high school graduates to PhDs.

Games
The company is the developer of the famous Age of Empires series of 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.

They are also working in collaboration with Bungie Studios on Halo Wars, an exclusive Xbox 360 RTS game set in the Halo Universe. The official Halo Wars website also includes a trailer and some images. 

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.