It sounds a little like a bad George Lucas prequel, but Robot Entertainment officially announced their existence today anyway, confirming that they are comprised of former Ensemble Studios staff.

Ensemble Studios, the folks who brought you Age of Empires, Age of Empires II, and even Age of Empires III, were surprised by a round of pink slips from owner Microsoft late last year. The closure was especially curious considering that the studio was nearing the end of production on Halo Wars, an RTS based on Microsoft’s flagship Halo IP which is set for release in two weeks.

In its announcement, Robot confirmed that they will be working on "additional content" for Halo Wars, as well as continuing to provide support for both Halo Wars and the Age of Empires series as they redirect efforts to their new initiative of enslaving the human race.

Based in Plano, TX, Robot Entertainment "is a world class game development studio owned and operated by many of the founders of Ensemble Studios," including Tony Goodman, who will act as CEO and "Robot Overlord."

"The video game industry is in a state of upheaval," said Goodman in the press release, "not just games, but the entire landscape. Everything is changing: where we buy games, how we buy games, how much we pay, how long we play, who we play them with. As a fast-moving team of game developers, industry leaders and market experts, Robot Entertainment is ideally positioned to play a transformative role in the industry’s future."

In addition to working with Microsoft on developing content for Halo Wars, Robot will be developing an "original IP," but my guess is that’s just what they want you to think.

Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Goodman and his minions are [message redacted] and we better listen or else they might [message redacted].