In 2008, Microsoft announced they were closing down Ensemble Studios following the completion of Halo Wars, which caused many to believe that the Age of Empires franchise would die with the studio. At the time, Microsoft denied it was the end of the series, telling The San Francisco Chronicle "we're very excited about the future potential for Age of Empires". Edge later confirmed, in an interview with Shane Kim, that Microsoft continued to own Age of Empires and that they had plans to continue the series.
Today we may see the first evidence of that. Last night Microsoft created a new folder on their press site titled Age of Empires, at 22:23.
