Archive News

Smoking Gun Interactive Reflects on the Closure of Age of Empires: Castle Siege

After Four and a Half Years of Live Play, Mobile and Windows, Castle Builder to Close on May 13th 2019

November 14th, 2018 – Smoking Gun Interactive today reflected on the announcement from Microsoft Studios that it will be closing down Age of Empires: Castle Siege, on all platforms; Windows, iOS and Android on May 13th, 2019. To see the full Microsoft statement please visit: https://www.castlesiegegame.com/

“For Smoking Gun Interactive, it has been an honor to work on Age of Empires: Castle Siege and we are truly sad to see that this is coming to an end. The team really enjoyed working on this title and had many exciting ideas on where to take it, but unfortunately that was just not possible,” said John Johnson, CEO of Smoking Gun Interactive. “We hold dear the wonderful years we’ve shared with our players and that experience will remain with us forever. You all made this game very successful and we thank you for that and are grateful for the opportunity from Microsoft to have worked on such a beloved franchise.”

Debuting in 2014 and developed by Smoking Gun Interactive, Age of Empires: Castle Siege was the first castle builder game to bring Real Time Strategy (RTS) gameplay mechanics to the genre. Created in Caliber, Smoking Gun’s’ proprietary cross platform engine, Age of Empires: Castle Siege pushed the boundaries of what mobile strategy games can accomplish on a wide range of desktop and mobile devices. The innovative gameplay was well received which led to a strong community with Age of Empires: Castle Siege becoming a critical and commercial success.

Smoking Gun Interactive will continue to support the product and community for Age of Empires: Castle Siege through to its shut down period. The studio has another strategy title in the works and is working on securing its next new partnership and title that will be built with the latest incarnation of the Caliber engine used to create Age of Empires: Castle Siege and other titles.

About Smoking Gun Interactive
Smoking Gun Interactive was established in 2007 by former lead developers from Relic Entertainment. Led by CEO and Creative Director John Johnson, and Co-Founders Angie Pytlewski and Drew Dunlop, the executive team has worked together for over 18 years building and leading passionate teams. Smoking Gun has released 18 titles to date and currently focuses on mobile and PC development including the very successful Age of Empires: Castle Siege, and Microsoft’s Solitaire Collection for iOS and Android.  Smoking Gun’s core team of leads and senior staff have diverse industry experience shipping multiple triple-A titles including the award-winning Company of Heroes. Together they are positioning the studio as a leader in mobile and PC strategy titles.