Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition News

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Join us in the Enchanted Grove for Season Four, starting on February 16th! In this update, you can optimize your strategy on three new maps, start from scratch with only a few villagers and no starting Town Center in the new Nomad game mode, build new or improved Landmarks, and more! You’ll also get to explore the new Enchanted Grove Biome as we round out this update with a new season of events, rewards and ranked, as well as quality-of-life updates. 

• New Event and Biome: Enchanted Grove 
  
• Season Four Ranked 1v1 and Team Ranked 
  
• New Maps: Four Lakes, Continental, Marshland 
  
• New Game Mode: Nomad 
  
• Mod Browser Update 
  
• UI Improvements 
  
• Landmark Reworks 
  
• Art of War Updates 
  
• New Cheat Code
  

💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum
💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum
🗣 JOIN: Official Discord

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

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        ◆Update 6.0.878◆

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[h2]Enchanted Grove[/h2]
[h3]New Event[/h3]
We’re starting off Season Four by inviting you to step into the wondrous and new Enchanted Grove, which starts on February 16th and runs through March 29th. You can Get in the Grove to earn more portraits, coat of arms, and banners by completing challenges.







[h3]New Event Biome: Enchanted Grove[/h3]
We also kick off Season Four with a new, glowing biome you can explore and enjoy throughout the Enchanted Grove event. If your units successfully hunt the graceful yet elusive Enchanted Stag in a Multiplayer or Skirmish game, you’ll receive the Golden Stag Monument.
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[h2]Ranked Season Four[/h2]
[h3]Ranked Play[/h3]
For those of you looking to test your mettle and seek glory, we’re excited to announce that ranked play starts right after Season Four begins. Get ready to gather your armies for Ranked Season Four starting on February 17th ! Age up through the ranks and earn your rewards when Ranked Season Four ends on June 7th.



[h3]Season Four Map Pools[/h3]
We’re looking to keep things fresh with every new season and Season Four is no exception. We’re always aiming to include new maps a short while after they’re added into the game and mix in older maps when they haven’t been in the rotation for a while. To see which maps you like and know which tend to be popular, we’re always reading your feedback and looking at our data to inform which maps we want to include into our future rotations – so let us know your thoughts on Season Four’s new map rotation! To learn more about the new maps, read on below.

To keep things fair for competitive ranked play, the Enchanted Grove biome will not be available on ranked maps.

1v1 Ranked Map Pool for Season Four

• Dry Arabia
  
• Prairie
  
• Lipany
  
• Ancient Spires
  
• Wetlands
  
• Oasis
  
• Altai
  
• Boulder Bay
  
• Waterholes
  

Team Ranked Map Pool for Season Four

• Dry Arabia
  
• Lipany
  
• Hideout
  
• High View
  
• Mountain Clearing
  
• Hill and Dale
  
• Mongolian Heights
  
• Baltic
  
• Nagari
  

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

[h3]:alertalert: DISCLAIMER[/h3]This list is subject to change and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence.

For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.

Editor's Note: An issue with Event descriptions not appearing correctly in all languages has been resolved!

Lunar New Year is upon us, and so is the next event for Age of Empires IV! Dust off your lanterns and get ready to celebrate this festive season. From today, January 23rd to February 9th, play some fun challenges and earn some exclusive rewards in the Lunar Faire Event!


[h2]New Rewards![/h2]

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We hope you enjoy the Lunar Faire Event and are looking forward to the next one!

Don’t forget to keep sharing your feedback on Seasons with us in the forums – we’d love to hear your feedback!

In Patch 5.2.131, we’re enhancing the Hardest AI Difficulty to provide a far more difficult and engaging experience for those of you seeking a challenge. Also, now you’ll be able to correctly remove your map pool downvotes if you change your mind.

We’re also providing a sneak peek of some of the next events upcoming in Season Three!

• Hardest AI Difficulty Improved
  
• Downvote Bug Fixed
  
• New Event: Lunar Faire
  
• New Event: Kindred Spirits
  

💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum
💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum
🗣 JOIN: Official Discord

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

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        ◆Patch 5.1.148.1◆

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[h2]General[/h2]

• Fixed a bug that prevented players from un-downvoting maps that have been removed from the matchmaking map pool.

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

[h3]:alertalert: DISCLAIMER[/h3]This list is subject to change and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence.

For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.

⚠️ The Age of Empires IV Public Update Preview (PUP) has been extended through January 26th at 10 a.m. PT (1800 UTC)! Following this extension will be a small update the week of January 23rd that improves stability issues encountered in PUP.

The Age of Empires IV Season Four Public Update Preview (PUP) is LIVE now! Through January 23rd, owners of Age IV on Steam will have their first opportunity to try their hand at all the amazing content, updates, and changes coming with Season Four. Read on for more information!

This PUP session provides a hands-on look at what’s coming to Age of Empires IV in our Season Four update.

[h2]What to Expect[/h2]

Our Age of Empires Public Update Previews (PUPs) present an opportunity for our incredible players to get hands-on experience with exciting changes ahead of major updates. They also provide an opportunity to give feedback and help us prepare for upcoming major releases.

Among the future content available in this PUP is a new game mode that many of you will remember from Age of Empires II—Nomad! This new mode sees players begin with three randomly placed Villagers. Choose the ideal location to build your first Town Center and begin your rise through the Ages.

In addition to Nomad mode, this Season Four Public Update Preview includes:

1. Three New Maps (Four Lakes, Continental, Marshland)
   
2. AI changes and updates, in conjunction with making the Hardest AI more of a challenge—please note that the changes to Hardest AI are not specifically related to the Season Four PUP and will be released prior to the official Season Four update as part of a minor patch
   
3. Mini-map size can now be toggled between Normal, 125%, and 150%
   
4. Significant improvements to the Mod Browser experience with a focus on improved discoverability
   
5. Landmark balance improvements – less-used Landmarks will now be present more viable strategies or have unique features to stand out as a compelling choice
   
6. …and a whole lot of bug fixes & balance changes
   

[h2]Get Ready for PUP[/h2]

Check out the Release Notes to read all about the available content and spectacular changes that are afoot for Age IV in an upcoming update!

⚠️Please note that you will need to be logged in with a Steam account that owns Age of Empires IV to view.

Finally, note that this is a preview build of an upcoming update to Age of Empires IV. Some features in this preview are not yet final.

Please note that Events, Rewards and certain Seasonal activities and surprises may not be present in the PUP – you'll see more of what’s in store with our February release!

Don’t miss any news about this or any other Public Update Preview—sign up as an Age Insider.

[h2]How to Access the PUP[/h2]

[h3]To get started with the PUP build, owners on Steam can download the Age IV PUP by following the instructions below: [/h3]

1. Navigate to your Steam library and right click on Age of Empires IV.
   
2. Select Properties… at the bottom of the menu.
   
3. Select the BETAS tab on the left.
   
4. In the Select the beta… dropdown menu, select future_live.
   
5. The build will begin downloading—once complete, you are ready to play!
   

🎞️Replays in the PUP build are not compatible with the retail version.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏽Players in the PUP version will only be able to match with those also on the PUP build.

⚠️To revert back to retail, simply change your beta branch (step 4 above) back to “None.”  

We hope you join us for this fun-filled experience, and we can't wait to hear back from you!

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Wednesday, January 18 @ 2:00p PT / 5:00p ET / 22:00 UTC (Countdown)
EST. DOWNTIME: 1-2 HOURS

[h3]GAMES & PLATFORMS IMPACTED[/h3]

• Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires IV (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  

[h3]OBJECTIVES[/h3]

• Routine server updates and maintenance.

[h3]DETAILS[/h3]This coming Wednesday, January 18th, the platform team will be taking the multiplayer servers down for regular maintenance. Please note:

• Ranked matchmaking will disabled exactly one hour before the maintenance window to prevent disruption to newly-formed matches.
  
  
• Any matches still in progress at the start of the maintenance window will be disrupted when it begins.
  
  
• DURING THE MAINTENANCE WINDOW, YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO LAUNCH THE GAME, BUT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MATCHMAKE OR ACCESS ANY ONLINE FEATURES.

To prevent any interruptions, we recommend wrapping up any games at least 10 minutes before the maintenance window. The downtime is expected to last between 1 and 2 hours. You can watch this thread with any changes to the schedule as they arise, as well as the all-clear when the maintenance is complete.

Thank you for your patience!