Amidst Layoffs, Microsoft Shuts Down Flight Simulator Game Studio

Microsoft has announced that Aces Game Studio will be closing its doors. The studio was responsible for Microsoft’s Flight Simulator, one of Microsoft’s oldest product lines, stretching back 20 years. The first Microsoft Flight Simulator game was released in 1982, while the most recent version, Flight Simulator X, was launched in 2006.

The closure of Aces Game Studio is not the first developer casualty within Microsoft Game Studios, nor will it probably be the last. Since September 2007, the company has shut down FASA Studio, which was responsible for Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, and Shadowrun. Also getting the axe were Ensemble Studios, creator of Age of Empires, and Carbonated Games, responsible for such titles as Hexic HD and Uno.

The news of this recent closure comes off a recent Microsoft announcement that the company will be laying off approximately 5,000 employees over the next 18 months, with 1,400 already cut.

The future of the Flight Simulator series is uncertain, although while possible, it’s rather doubtful that this will be the end of the franchise. What is certain is that another company has felt the pains of the current economic landscape, laying off thousands of people and ending popular product lines. Even the giants such as Microsoft and their gaming studios are not immune to layoffs and cutbacks, and as things progress, are not going to be the last gaming company to feel the heat.