Halo Wars fan-passion saves stats

Microsoft has abolished plans to wipe away the Halo Wars online statistics after a passionate response from gamers.

"After seeing the reaction and passion from Halo Wars fans as well as Halo FPS fans who were concerned about the future of other Halo titles, we determined that the previously stated plan of action was not in line with our intended plan of loyal support for Halo' games,' said Microsoft in a statement to IGN.

The loss of online statistics was going to be collateral for Halo Wars moving under the Halo Waypoint umbrella. Forums will still be merged, MS clarified, "But other than that, nothing changes."

"If and when the location of accessing your stats changes, we will let you know at that point in time," MS promised.

Halo Wars, made by Age of Empire developer Ensemble, was released at the start of 2009. It was supposed to do for RTS games what Halo did for the FPS - bring the genre natively to console. That didn't work out, and Ensemble was shut down soon after, the staff force eventually reforming into three entities: Robot Entertainment to oversee Halo Wars, Bonfire Studios and Windstorm Studios.