Following an announcement earlier this year that Microsoft planned to shut down Ensemble Studios, it was revealed that the company was working on a long-rumored Halo MMO. Few details were available at the time, but apparently the game had already been green lit and was well underway before Microsoft pulled the plug on the project.

Speaking to Shacknews, Ensemble director of technology Dave Pottinger shed a little more light on the matter, claiming the game was based on the World of Warcraft MMO model but was much more action oriented so as to keep it analogous to the forthcoming Halo Wars real-time strategy game. Pottinger also voices his disagreement with Microsoft’s decision to close the studio and suggests that Ensemble could have some form of successor.