Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition News

Age of Empires 4 is not the RTS revolution you've been waiting for

The recent Age of Empires IV technical beta gave players beyond the Age Insider programme their first chance to take the highly anticipated RTS game for a spin. It was fine, and I'm oddly pleased to discover that I'm just as mediocre at Age of Empires now as I was 20 years ago.

The beta offered PvP or co-op play against AI in up to 4v4 matches, with the English, Holy Roman Empire, Chinese, and Abbasid Dynasty available on a handful of maps. I had just as much fun playing around with the different civs as I did trying to actually win - it turns out building yourself a nice and tidy wooden wall is not the saviour you think it will be. That AI is also no joke either, even on intermediate settings.

I also found that an early rush can be killer. The English seem especially good at this, as they get access to some hard-hitting infantry earlier than the other playable civs, who have to make do with basic spearmen. Despite the community brouhaha over the art style, I found the graphics pretty enough (although I wasn't playing on max settings), and overall I saw nothing to make me especially concerned for the game's future.

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Age of Empires 4 DLC will be "a balancing act" to please different strategy fans

Age of Empires IV is getting a new technical beta this coming weekend, and despite a release date set in late October fans are already talking about what kind of DLC expansions they want to see next. Adam Isgreen, creative director at World's Edge, hasn't been coy with the fact that there are 'plans' for post-launch content, but we recently sat down and asked him to expand on what the studio's thinking is on this topic.

"We break people down into buckets," he tells us. "Like, the competitive players, what are we offering them? At launch? After launch? What's our roadmap? What about the players that love campaigns? What are we doing at launch, after [launch]? What about people who love to mod? How are we getting the tools out? We have all those tracks there we're working along for all the different types of players so that we can satisfy them in different ways."

When it comes to future expansions, we asked them whether they plan to tackle each "bucket" individually, or whether they'd tried to do an all-in-one approach to cater to multiple groups at once. "It's best to almost have a leapfrog thing," Isgreen explains. "I'm talking hypothetically here, but say new civilisations, but new civs could also touch on new campaigns.

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Age of Empires 4's stress test kicks off this week - and everyone's invited

Following August's Age of Empires 4 closed beta, Relic Entertainment has revealed that the highly anticipated strategy game is getting a new, technical stress test that kicks off later this week. While the team's aims are a little different this time around, meaning it won't be an identical experience, the key difference is you won't need an invite to jump in to this one.

First up, the when. The Age of Empires 4 technical stress test goes live on Friday, September 17 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST and runs through that weekend until Monday, September 20 until the same time. The idea this time is to stress test the upcoming RTS game's servers and systems at scale, with the devs trying to get as many people in and playing over the weekend to check that its "matchmaking, lobbies, and additional systems hold strong", as they explain in a blog post.

The test will primarily offer the chance to dive into Age 4's multiplayer experience, though there'll also be AI matches to try in its multiplayer custom lobby along with the game's tutorial, Mission Zero. The four Age of Empires 4 civilizations available to play during the test will be the English, Chinese, Holy Roman Empire, and Abbasid Dynasty, with five maps to give them a whirl in.

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Another Age of Empires 4 beta is something devs are "interested in doing"

Age of Empires IV's closed beta is over, but Relic and World's Edge are interested in running another one, provided "everything comes together." Creative director Adam Isgreen tells us during an interview at Gamescom that there is interest in running another beta, though it's still in discussion.

"I don't have anything concrete to share," he says, "[but] it is something that we're interested in doing. When you make a beta build, it's always a frozen moment in time but it doesn't stop the progress of the game."

Isgreen mentions that the version of the game that was provided for the beta - which started on August 5 and ended just before Gamescom - was nearly a month old by the time the testing period started. "There's been a lot of changes that have happened since," he explains, "balancing, new features, and all kinds of things." When we'll get another one though is a matter of timing, and choosing the right moment, Isgreen explains: "If everything comes together, and we can find another perfect freeze point - we're working on figuring out where we can make that happen."

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Make Your Mark On History With New Steam Bundle

Relive the march of history! Join the many generations of players who have experienced one of the most beloved franchises, spanning twenty years and leaving a legacy of historical adventures. Remember where it all started with your favorite civilizations and relive the campaigns you know and love. Add the ultimate compilation in the next installment of real-time strategy gaming. With high-fidelity graphics and featuring recently released content, the new Age of Empires Anthology delivers it all. It not only includes titles from the past, but gamers can battle it out in new game modes, discover new civilizations, and enjoy the updated graphics.

In addition to your favorite titles from the past, also included in the anthology is the new Age of Empires IV – Digital Deluxe Edition, with special access to the official Age of Empires IV soundtrack, Unit Counters Chart, an art compilation from digital painter Craig Mullins, and exclusive in-game content. With both familiar and innovative new ways to expand your empire in stunning 4K visual fidelity, Age of Empires IV brings an evolved real-time strategy game to a new generation. Play eight diverse civilizations, four distinct campaigns with legendary historical figures, 8-player multiplayer modes, and a tutorial system designed for first-time players.

Age of Empires Anthology titles included:

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, plus the new “Dawn of the Dukes” and “Lords of the West” expansions
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, plus the new “The African Royals” expansion
Age of Empires IV – Digital Deluxe Edition

*Please note: the Anthology does not include the Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition – United States Civilization.

This unforgettable anthology is an unrivaled compilation with hundreds of hours of real-time strategy fun that will stand the test of time, and is available NOW on the Steam Store!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/22390/