A glitch in the Xbox Live system has seen the leaderboards for Halo Wars evaporate, and now the game's developers are unsure of whether they will ever be reconstituted.

"An Xbox LIVE technical issue wiped all Halo Wars Xbox LIVE Leaderboards earlier today," wrote Robot Entertainment on the Halo Wars site, slowly sapping the souls of several unknown gamers with each word.

"This includes all singleplayer, multiplayer and Trueskill leaderboards, as well as all matchmaking data," added Robot Entertainment, destroying man's ... Read more

Another batch of Halo Wars downloadable content is set to arrive on July 21, recreating "key turning points in the UNSC/Covenant war" across four new multiplayer maps.

Dubbed 'Historic Battles,' the pack will cost 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and contain two 1v1 maps, one 2v2 map and a 3v3 map. Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb details the maps and 100 points of achievements on his blog, though there appear to be errors.

The first batch of downloadable content for Halo Wars can now be found on Xbox Live.

Priced at 800 MS Points ($10), the "Strategic Options" add-on brings three new multiplayer modes and new achievements to Ensemble-developed Xbox 360 strategy game.

While Ensemble shut down following the completion of Halo Wars, several veterans went on to form Robot Entertainment, which has been working on "additional content."

In addition to its upcoming DLC, new battlefields will also soon grace Ensemble's RTS Halo Wars. Joystiq noticed that the names of three upcoming maps--Barrens (1v1), Blood River (1v1) and Memorial Basin (2v2)--are mentioned in the title's in-game news crawl.

It is unknown whether the maps will be part of the already-announced Strategic Options DLC. Shacknews contacted Microsoft for more information.

Reinforcement ModeWhile Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios is no more, the studio's legacy lives on through a variety of spin-off studios.

One of those, Robot Entertainment, has been working with Microsoft to develop "additional content" for the Xbox 360 strategy game.

Now, Microsoft has revealed the first details on that additional content in the form of the "Strategic Options" downloadable add-on that's due out in the "coming weeks."

The as-yet-unpriced download will bring three new multiplayer modes--Keepaway, Tug of War, and Reinforcement--to the game, along with four new achievements.

Keepaway Mode is the "Halo Wars" adaptation of Capture the Flag. Teams will battle it out to capture a free-roaming Forerunner Sentinel... Read more

Offering a glimpse into the fascinating world of game sales, research group NPD has released its take on the software and hardware sales in the US over 3/1/09 to 4/4/09.

New releases dominated the software chart, with Resident Evil 5 surpassing 1.5 million units thanks to a dual-platform debut, and Halo Wars racking up an impressive 639K.

Meanwhile, Nintendo continued its dominance of hardware sales charts.

The month's ten best-selling consoles games were:

1. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, 360) - 938,000 units
2. Pokemon Platinum Version (Game Freak, DS) - 805,000 units
3. Halo Wars (Ensemble, 360) - 639,000 units
4. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, PS3) - 585,000 units
5. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 541,000 units
6. MLB 09: The Show (Sony, PS3) - 305,000 units
7. Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games, PS3) - 296,000 units... Read more

In the three or so weeks since Halo Wars launched, the Xbox 360 strategy game has sold over one million copies worldwide, publisher Microsoft announced today.

That makes it "the best selling real-time strategy game on any current generation console," according to Microsoft's claims. The final game from Ensemble Studios, Halo Wars hit Asia on February 26, Europe on February 27, and North America on March 3.

Over 2.6 million multiplayer matches have been played thus far, adding up to 118 years of time, with Microsoft teasing that "these initial explosive battles in 'Halo Wars' are just beginning" as the Ensemble veterans at Robot are working on more Halo Wars content.

As this trailer makes abundantly clear, Halo Wars isn't your standard Halo game. Not only does it take place about 20 years before those other Halo games, but instead of merely shooting aliens, you're commanding the troops from a birds-eye view.

Developed by now-closed Ensemble Studios, Halo Wars hits Xbox 360 tomorrow.

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Halo Wars developers Ensemble make their case for Halo Wars in this newly-released developer diary. Also included: the designers' favorite strategies.

The Xbox 360 RTS hits stores on March 3.

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Following its unofficial reveal last week, Robot Entertainment today announced itself to the world, confirming that the independent studio is comprised of Ensemble veterans.

Apparently picking up where Ensemble left off after it was closed by Microsoft, Robot is developing "additional content" for Ensemble's final project, the Xbox 360 strategy game Halo Wars. The new company, co-founded by Ensemble co-founder Tony Goodman, will also provide multiplayer and community support for Age of Empires and Halo Wars.

Along with the Halo Wars content, the studio is working on an original property, of which no other details were revealed. At present, Robot Entertainment employs 45 staffers, all hailing from Ensemble Studios, with Goodman serving as CEO.

"The video game industry is in a state of upheaval," explained Goodman, "not just games, but the entire landscape. Everything is changing: where we buy games, how we buy games, how much we pay, how long we play, who we play them with."

"As a fast-moving independent team of game developers, industry leaders and market experts, Robot Entertainment is ideally positioned to play a transformative role in the industry's future," he added.

Microsoft has released the third entry in its Halo Wars video documentary series, this one starring several former Ensemble staffers as they discuss the game's controls.

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Developed by the now-closed Ensemble Studios, the Xbox 360 strategy game hits North American retailers March 3. A downloadable demo is currently available on Xbox Live.

Microsoft has revealed that the downloadable demo for Ensemble Studios' Halo Wars was downloaded more than 2 million times in the week following its February 5 debut.

In addition, the Xbox 360 strategy game demo set a day-one record for demo downloads, and was said to be among Xbox Live's "top demo downloads of all time." The full version of Halo Wars hits North American retailers on March 3.

For those keeping track, that means Halo Wars beat out the Resident Evil 5 demo, which was downloaded 1.8 million times in its first week of availability. Microsoft did not specify if Halo Wars was able to achieve a million downloads in three days, as RE5 did.

As promised, a downloadable demo for Ensemble Studio's console strategy game Halo Wars is now available from the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace.

The demo packs two optional tutorials, the game's first two campaign missions, and a skirmish map that lets players face off against the computer as the Covenant or UNSC.

The full version of Halo Wars, the final game out of the now-closed Age of Empires series developer Ensemble, arrives at North American retailers come March 3.

Microsoft has released the second entry in its Halo Wars video documentary series, which examines the various units of the forthcoming Xbox 360 real-time strategy game.

Though the final game from the now-closed Ensemble Studios won't arrive until March 3, players will be able to get an early glimpse via a downloadable demo this Thursday.

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Earlier this week, Shacknews paired with Microsoft to give away some early access codes to the Halo Wars demo. And while most of us will have to wait until February 5 to get our hands on the demo, 15 randomly selected winners will have it today.

The final title from soon-to-be-closed Age of Empires creator Ensemble Studios, the science fiction-centric Xbox 360 strategy game hits North American retailers March 3.

The demo packs two tutorials, two campaign missions, and a multiplayer map for offline battles against the computer. And if you're among the following, check your Shackmessages, because you've won the chance to play it before most:

• Zman0404
• Plumpman... Read more

Update: The contest is now closed. Winners will be notified shortly!

Don't want to wait until next week to play Halo Wars? Well, how's tomorrow sound? While the demo won't publicly available until next Thursday, Shacknews and Microsoft have teamed up to give away 15 codes that'll let you download and play it a week early.

If you're hoping to give the Xbox 360 strategy game an early go, just add Halo Wars to your wanted list with the above widget, and post something in the comments below. We'll randomly select the winners and send codes via Shackmessages tonight.

The final game from soon-to-be-closed Age of Empires creator Ensemble Studios, Halo Wars hits retailers on March 3. The downloadable demo packs two optional tutorials, the first two campaign missions, and a multiplayer map for offline battles against the computer, in which players can control either UNSC or Covenant forces.

Still haven't seen a decent overview of Halo Wars? Check out the following video, which features a large cast of Ensemble developers providing a pretty thorough briefing on the console RTS.

Halo Wars hits the Xbox 360 on March 3. A demo with several maps rolls out Feb.5.

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Ensemble Studios has wrapped up work on its final game, publisher and studio owner Microsoft announced today, with Halo Wars now complete and off to manufacturing.

The Xbox 360 real-time strategy game launches in North America on March 3. A downloadable demo will be available through the Xbox Live Marketplace on February 5.

The demo will pack two optional tutorials, beginner and advanced, the game's first two campaign missions, and a multiplayer map for offline battles against the computer, in which players will be able to control either UNSC or Covenant forces.

Microsoft's Robbie Bach today announced that a demo of Ensemble's RTS Halo Wars (X360) will hit Xbox Live on February 5.

Halo Wars hits the Xbox 360 on March 3.

See the purple guys in these new Halo Wars screenshots? They're coming for you on March 3, and developer Ensemble too, as the beloved studio, responsible for the Age of Empires series, is closing as soon as the Xbox 360 strategy game is complete.