Report: Robot Entertainment Developing PC RTS Spartan for Microsoft Game Studios

Veterans of shuttered Age of Empires house Ensemble Studios are working with Microsoft once again -- Robot Entertainment, a studio founded by former Ensemble employees, is developing a new strategy IP for the company that closed their old studio down. Consumer weblog Kotaku discovered that an upcoming strategy game with the working title of "Spartan" is apparently in development at Robot, to be published by Microsoft. Robot's newly-relaunched website also confirms it's at work on a game to be published by Microsoft Game Studios. After Microsoft closed Ensemble following the launch of Halo Wars, CEO Tony Goodman formed Robot with a staff of 45 other Ensemble vets. It continued to work with Microsoft, however, providing ongoing support for Halo Wars as it began work on its own IP -- likely the project revealed here. No further details have been officially revealed about Spartan beyond what's purportedly a launcher screen with a cartoonish art style. Shortly after its founding, Robot said it was using Trinigy's Vision Engine in the development of its unannounced IP. Vision Engine has also been licensed by Blue Byte, developer of RTS franchise Settlers.