And the shuttering continues with Microsoft, having announced a series of cost-cutting measures and staff layoffs to help thwart bad economic times and corporate blunders. Over the weekend the company has confirmed the closure of of ACES Studios, developer of the ground-breaking and popular Flight Simulator franchise. In production since 1982, the famed series predates nearly all of the company's other software efforts and has been a mainstay on personal computers ever since.
So says Microsoft spokeswoman Kelda Rericha to website Appscout:
"Following our annual strategy review process, IEB [Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business unit] is making adjustments within our business to align our people against our highest priorities. The closure of ACES Studios was one of those specific changes."
The closure of ACES follows the recent closing of Ensemble Studios, widely considered one of Microsoft's best and most profitable internal game development studios and creators of the best-selling Age of Empires franchise (as well as upcoming Halo Wars strategy game). The recent economic downturn has hit the software giant particularly hard, with several of its development and hardware studios posting decreased revenue over last year's earnings. As for the future of Flight Simulator?
You'll have to keep reading for that nugget of goodwill...
"Regarding the future of Flight Simulator, all we're announcing at this time is that we are committed to flying games. You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing to announce around Flight Simulator specifically at this time."
Yay, more flying games. Never mind the company has continually published the most popular and revered 'flying game' franchise of all-time, but at least we've got more flying games to look forward to. Way to hock the Live experience in the process, because Lord knows you can't have a good flying game without some Live service to go with it. Flying games.
Now how's about shuttering those unpopular, unprofitable money-pits that have consistantly failed to turn a profit...? Its not as if anyone's employment is at stake here. Right?
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