Halo Wars is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. The game is set in the Halo science fiction universe, 20 years before the video game Halo: Combat Evolved, which was released on 2001. Halo Wars was released in Japan and Australia on February 26, 2009, PAL territories on February 27, 2009, and North America on March 3, 2009. It is the last project to be developed by Ensemble Studios.
Ensemble first hinted that their next project was a console real-time strategy game in mid-2006. The game was officially unveiled on September 27, 2006 at Microsoft's X06 Xbox show. Acknowledging that previous console real-time strategy games often fell short, Ensemble built Halo Wars specifically for the Xbox 360's limited controller. The game was an attempt to bring together Halo first-person shooter fans to play a real-time strategy game and experienced strategy players to play a Halo game.
On release, Halo Wars was met with generally positive reviews from gaming critics. Critics lauded the game's attention to the Halo universe along with the intuitive control scheme. Several critics also noted that seasoned real-time strategy players may not find the strategic elements as deep and that there were no options to play as the Covenant or Flood in the game's campaign mode.
