And after the Ensemble, there were four...

Many of us knew about the closure of Ensemble Studios by Microsoft after they released Halo Wars. Well, in February 2009 former Ensemble Studios head Tony Goodman started a new independent studio, Robot Entertainment, and a number of the existing employees have been offered a position in this company. Following the announcement of Robot Entertainment, former Ensemble Studios producer David Rippy started a new independent studio, Bonfire Studios, comprised entirely of former Ensemble staff members. In March 2009, a third studio,Windstorm Studios was announced, founded by ex-staffer Dusty Monk. In May 2009, a fourth studio called Newtoy was created by several developers from Ensemble. Newtoy is already working on its first game for the iPhone.

Robot Entertainment is currently responsible for maintaining and updating the Halo Wars and Age of Empires Franchise. While there have been no official announcements, there have been hints that Bonfire has begun work on its first project. Little information is known about the project except that Bonfire mentioned it would be fast, fun and addictive.

Also, there's news about a new fan-made expansion for Age of Mythology, titled: Age of Mythology: The Roman Legion. Game development will be handled by Purple Design Studios. With renowned standards of quality, Purple Design Studios has begun the development of the most complete civilization modification ever created for Age of Mythology. Everything from the building set to the user interface has been revolutionized for the Romans. The expansion pack is focused on the Roman Legion revolving around the Punic Wars. The Roman Legion was chosen for the expansion's theme due to the fact that the Roman mythology and military allowed for an expansive dip into historically accurate, yet fun, gameplay.

The demo version will be available summer 2009, it will include a playable campaign scenario, units and 42 buildings for use in the editor, and one upgrade stage. The redesigned main menu GUI will also be featured. The game requires Age of Mythology and/or the Titans expansion to be installed. Check it out here at Mod DB.

Another fan-made mod that caught my eye is an Age of Empires III mod titled: Age of Empires III: The Napoleonic Era. I hate to go into details at the moment. But know that the beta is currently available free of charge. Check it out here!