According to a post on the Ensemble Studios forums, Shane Kim, the head of Microsoft Game Studios, recently dropped by for a visit to the Dallas-based developer. Checking up on the studio's milestones for the upcoming Halo Wars, Ensemble presented a "fairly polished" version of the game to Kim and his Microsoft cohorts. All of Ensemble then proceeded to enjoy some multiplayer. The most interesting upshot is that the game was far enough along for this kind of playable milestone. It's a good sign that this next expansion of the Halo universe is coming right along.


Although having a milestone passing described as being "moderately less painful than passing a series of kidney stones" is a bit much for Sunday reading, you should head over to the thread on Ensemble's community forums to scope out the happenings for yourself.