Microsoft may have shut down the development studio that he co-founded but his peers have decided to give him a major honor. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences have announced that Bruce Shelley, the founder of Ensemble Studios, will be the latest person inducted in the organization's Hall of Fame.

Shelley will be the 12th person named to the AIAS Hall of Fame by its members with the official ceremony to be held at the organization's annual DICE Summit in Las Vegas on Feb. 19. Shelley first gained fame by working with fellow Hall of Fame inductee Sid Meier on the classic Civilization and other titles at Microprose. Shelley then went out on his own and co-formed Dallas-based Ensemble in 1995. Their Age of Empires series of RTS games were both critical and sales hits. Recently Ensemble's owners Microsoft announced they would be shutting down Ensemble after the team completes their work on the Xbox 360 title Halo Wars. It's currently unknown what Shelley has planned next in the business.