Sandy Petersen: “all he did was lose a studio that did not sell less than 3 million copies”
By Victor Rosas on November 2, 2025
For many, The point that changed the history of Xbox was with Don Mattrick at the head of the brand and the decisions. The manager, controversial for this very reason, pointed in directions that ended up affect everything that was obtained in the Xbox 360 era. It wasn’t just about consoles, but also about projects; one of them was inspired by Halo and it was planned as a very ambitious evolution of the, at that time, young proposal of Halo Wars which was developed by Ensemble Studios. However, the manager ended the project and the study itself.
Halo Wars It was the first step of a more ambitious projectSandy Petersen blames Don Mattrick for cancellation of ambitious MMO Halo
During the first decade of the 21st century, Halo became a globally successful franchise and one of the most successful in the video game and entertainment industry. After 3 installments, there was room to experiment and Ensemble Studios, legendary team behind Age of Empirespresented a real-time strategy vision with Halo Wars.
After the good results, the studio thought big and the next step was a giant MMO. Recently, Sandy Petersen, one of the creatives who was part of this project, told the sad story that led to its end.
According to the developer, who was part of the DOOM, Quake y Age of Empiresthis game was proposed as a prequel to Halo. However, there was not even time to make significant progress as Don Mattrick decided to end the project and the studio itself. Because? A matter of business, Petersen points out:
“In 2008, Ensemble Studios began planning a gigantic MMO set in the universe of Halo. we call it Titan. It would take place tens of thousands of years before the rings activated and destroyed all sentient life in the galaxy. It all came to nothing when Don Mattrick realized that his stock bonus was based on the revenue Microsoft was supposed to make on video game revenue over a 3-year period.”
Sandy Petersen: Don Mattrick came from being the “axe man” at EA. What would we expect from him?
Don Mattrick’s decisions continue to cost Xbox dearlyLater, Sandy Petersen revealed that he was in charge of the construction of the universe, the stories of each planet and the alien species.
According to Ensemble and Microsoft projections, the MMO of Halo could generate at least $1.1 billion in revenue. That amount in those years was impressive.
However, as the developer points out, It all ended abruptly when Mattrick learned how long development would take.. This MMO would take a minimum of 3.5 years, but the head of Xbox needed it at most 3 to be able to meet his financial goals and collect his bonuses.
By not reaching an agreement, the MMO of Halo was rejected and in 2009 Ensemble Studios was closed, all under the orders of Don Mattrick. The creative recalled that, in the end, he was a business person and even then he was famous for cuts, layoffs and closures:
“We estimate 3.5 years to finish Titan if we did it well. That was beyond Mattrick’s deadline. So, by firing TODO Ensemble, he didn’t have to pay for our expensive studio for 3 years because he didn’t care about the project. All he lost was a game studio that never sold less than 3 million copies. I don’t think he did justice to Microsoft shareholders, but hey, he came from being the ‘axe man’ at EA. What would we expect from him?
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