Age of Mythology: Retold News

It has been an incredibly busy 2025 so far for World’s Edge and the Age of Empires and Age of Mythology franchises, and as we cross the halfway mark together, we’d like to celebrate the amazing journey we’ve taken this year alongside our players. From record-breaking launches to community milestones and platform expansions, your passion and support have made the first half of the year nothing short of legendary.

Together, we’ve reached a new milestone: over 65 million players! This is more than just a number—it’s a testament to your passion, creativity, and support as a global community. Whether you’re commanding armies in Age of Empires IV, growing your civilization in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, living the legend in Age of Mythology: Retold, or strategizing on the go with Age of Empires Mobile, you are a part of something truly special.

With your incredible support for the Age of Empires franchise, we’ve already released three remarkable expansions and brought both Age of Mythology: Retold and Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition to PS5.

[h3]Let’s take a closer look at what you’ve helped bring to life so far in 2025:[/h3]

• Immortal Pillars for Age of Mythology: Retold introduced an entirely new Chinese pantheon, the all-new Pillars of the Gods campaign, and seven new maps.
  
• Knights of Cross and Rose for Age of Empires IV delivered two new civilizations, the Knights Templar and House of Lancaster, as well as ten new maps for skirmish and multiplayer, and a new game mode: Historical Battles.
  
• The Three Kingdoms for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition brought five new civilizations: Shu, Wei, Wu, Jurchens, and Khitans, and three new campaigns exploring the epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
  
• PlayStation 5 releases: We created more opportunities for you to engage with the Age franchise wherever you choose to play when we welcomed new players with the release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition and Age of Mythology: Retold on PlayStation 5.

We didn’t just make history in-game this year—we made it in the real world, too! As the first-ever gaming partner of the legendary Louvre Museum, we joined forces to bring the epic story of the Mamluks (1250–1517) to life in a way never seen before. This groundbreaking collaboration is all about celebrating the golden age of medieval history and inspiring curiosity far beyond the screen.

With everything we packed into the first half of 2025, we still have so much more to come, and the second half is shaping up to be even bigger! We’re so grateful you’re with us for every twist and turn, and we couldn’t do it without you.

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[h2]A New Pantheon Rises! Limited-Time 15% Off Pre-Order for Heavenly Spear – Launching September 30![/h2]

As part of the Xbox Showcase in June, we announced the next expansion for Age of Mythology: Retold will be Heavenly Spear. For the first time in Age of Mythology history, we’re bringing Japanese mythology to life! For the first time in Age of Mythology history, we’re bringing Japanese mythology to life and invites you to immerse yourself in the legends, gods, and heroes of Japan – introducing a brand-new Japanese Pantheon, an epic 12-mission campaign, and mythic powers never before seen in the franchise.

To celebrate this milestone, we’re offering a limited-time 15% discount when you pre-order Heavenly Spear before launch. This is your chance to be among the first to experience this vibrant new world and save!

Remember, if you’ve purchased the Premium Edition of Age of Mythology: Retold, you’ll be able to access Heavenly Spear at launch.

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Want to find out more about Heavenly Spear? We’ve got you covered!


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We’re thrilled to share new screenshots from the expansion, including our heroic Yasuko and the formidable villain Magumo—both of whom captured your imagination during the Xbox Showcase.



Don’t miss out—pre-order Heavenly Spear now and be part of our most exciting adventure yet!
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/2991180/Age_of_Mythology_Retold__Heavenly_Spear/
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If you’re coming to Gamescom, be sure to join us at the World’s Edge booth to be one of the first to play Heavenly Spear and experience the wonder of the Japanese pantheon!

[h2]Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition continues to grow![/h2]


This has already been a humongous year for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! In April, we released the game’s biggest update yet, including our largest balance pass, additional units for civilizations, new regional visuals for units and buildings, new maps available to all our players, and much more.

In May, we welcomed new players on PlayStation 5 and launched the fastest selling Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition expansion to date, The Three Kingdoms!

The year isn’t over yet, and today we’re teasing our next expansion for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, coming later this year. While we can’t reveal the details at this stage, we can share a couple of images that chronicle this great upcoming adventure.


Stay tuned for a more in-depth look very soon!

[h2]Knights of Cross and Rose led the charge in Spring 2025, and Fall will bring more battles and content for Age of Empires IV[/h2]


In April we launched Knights of Cross and Rose, the second expansion for Age of Empires IV and one of the best-selling expansions ever for the Age of Empires franchise! We’ve been thrilled to hear your feedback, see your new strategies, and watch gameplay as you’ve marched into battle with the Knights Templar and House of Lancaster.

In February 2025, we revealed this year would bring two new expansions for Age of Empires IV. With Knights of Cross and Rose already available, we are excited to share that the next big release will come in the Fall of 2025.

Our focus for content this year was to expand on existing concepts, as well as experiment with shorter and more repeatable experiences. While the Historical Battles included in Knights of Cross and Rose provided one avenue for shaking up our formula by fusing more traditional narrative-driven elements of a campaign mission with a scoring system and levels designed to promote more exploration, we’ve continued to push things even farther with a new game mode we’ll be unveiling with this next expansion. In fact, while there will be plenty of the Age of Empires IV gameplay you know and love to revel in, you might recognize core elements from other genres making their debut as well. We’re pretty sure you’ll like what you see, and there’s so much more to share!

While we aren’t ready to go into the exact details yet, we do hear rumblings that a previously mentioned event in Cologne later this summer would be a great moment to stay tuned to the Age of Empires channels.

[h2]Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition is coming, play first at Gamescom[/h2]


In October 2024 we launched Age of Empires Mobile and millions of players around the world have been building cities, recruiting heroes and winning battles with their alliances.

Today we’re excited to announce that we’re bringing the title to PC. This new PC Edition brings rapid pacing combined with PC elements that players demand: optimized mouse control and settings, full keyboard navigation, refined UI, enhanced 4K visuals, and seamless Steam and Xbox Live integration.

We’ll have more details on the title soon including release date, but visitors to the Age of Empires booth at Gamescom will be the first to get to play Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition and we can’t wait to see you.

[h2]Competitive Age Continues to Flourish in 2025![/h2]


Players in the Age of Empires Esports scene are competing harder than ever before, creating exhilarating moments for fans around the globe. With over $200,000 awarded to players in S-tier events alone so far in 2025, we still have many events and surprises upcoming in the second half of the year. Including a LAN event in Germany and China!

• Congratulations to our S-tier Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition champion:
  
  • Hera continued his dominance in the T90 Titans League 4, The Garrison, and Warlords IV.
• Congratulations to our S-tier Age of Empires IV champions:
  
  • Beasty in the EGC Masters Winter.
    
  • MarineLorD in The Elite Classic III.
    
  • loueMT in the EGC Masters Summer.
    
  • MarineLorD in the Masters of Steel.
• Congratulations to our S-tier Age of Mythology: Retold champions:
  
  • TheMista in Clash of Immortals.
    
  • Kvothhh in Mythic Wars.

Thank you to our incredible and dedicated tournament organizers who turn these thrilling spectacles into reality, and to our devoted players who continue to master the titles of the Age franchise.

For more information on upcoming Age of Empires Esports events, please see our Events Calendar to watch along live and support your favorite players!

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This is only a sneak peek at what’s still to come for Age of Empires and Age of Mythology. We can’t wait to share more and hope it sparked your excitement for everything coming in the second half of the year.

The best way to stay informed on everything Age is to follow our official channels below, we’ll be sharing more details as soon as we can. For now, please continue to send us your feedback, your thoughts and what you’d like to see next across our social channels, forums, Discord, and Steam.

Wololo!

Join the Age Community Channels:

Age on X Age on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ageofempires
Myth on X Myth on Facebook Age of Empires Discord Official Forums

Praise the gods, and prepare yourself for the next DLC for Age of Mythology: Retold – Heavenly Spear and, for a limited time, pre-order to get 15% off!

Worship the gods, command new heroes, and summon the yokai of Japan in an all-new expansion: Heavenly Spear. Play a sweeping 12-mission campaign, wield the powers of the entirely new Japanese Pantheon, and command samurai and all-new mythical creatures to achieve victory on the field of battle.

What’s Included in Heavenly Spear:

• 12 gods from Japanese mythology, each with unique blessings and playstyles
  
• 12 new myth units drawn from ancient legends
  
• A 12-mission campaign filled with divine conflict and heroic choices
  
• New god powers, techs, and strategic layers to master
  
• Expanded Skirmish and Arena of the Gods experiences

Pre-order Heavenly Spear now on Steam! Heavenly Spear will be available on September 30th.

If you already own the Premium Edition of Age of Mythology: Retold, you will gain access to Heavenly Spear on launch day, September 30th!
[hr][/hr][h3]Pre-Order Heavenly Spear Now![/h3]
Pre-order Heavenly Spear now on Steam and receive a 15% discount!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2991180/Age_of_Mythology_Retold__Heavenly_Spear/
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[h2]Meet the New Japanese Pantheon: Major Gods[/h2]
Age of Mythology: Retold – Heavenly Spear unleashes an all-new Japanese pantheon, 12 powerful gods, a new roster of units including ninjas and mythical creatures, and a divine campaign filled with honor, chaos, and celestial power.






[h2]All-New Japanese Pantheon Myth Units[/h2]


We’ll have two dedicated previews of the new Myth Units coming to Age of Mythology: Retold with the Heavenly Spear expansion, so keep your eye out for the sneak peek coming soon!

Myth units blend iconic Japanese folklore with inventive gameplay mechanics:

• Kitsune: fox spirits who serve as scouts and strengthen nearby units, making them perfect for intelligence-gathering and supporting raids.
  
• Shinigami: a terrifying spirit whose shout scares away enemies and who respawns into a more powerful form when defeated.
  
• Tengu: winged master swordsmen who leap into battle.

[h2]New Game Mechanic: Bushido[/h2]

In Age of Mythology: Retold, all Japanese soldiers generate ‘XP’ in battle, fuelling the Bushido meter. Elite warriors trained at the Dojo—such as Samurai, and Shinobi—gain ‘XP’ faster, and even contribute passively outside of combat.

Each tier of Bushido grants free line upgrades (Medium, Heavy, or Champion) for your human soldiers, regardless of which Age you are currently in. These upgrades can also be researched normally – at a reduced cost, with the discount scaling based on your progress toward the next tier.

Advancing a tier in Bushido will also provide a unique bonus from your Major God:

• Amaterasu: Provides increasing gold trickle per tier.
  
• Tsukuyomi: Increases Cavalry and Shinobi attack power per tier.
  
• Susanoo: Grants an immediate Favor reward upon reaching each tier.

[h2]New Maps, New Units, New Gameplay[/h2]


Unleash the might of 12 new gods—each offering unique playstyles, god powers, and strategic possibilities. Awaken Raijin’s thunderous drums, send whole armies flying across the map with Fujin’s Smiting Gust, or even summon Watatsumi’s swirling dragon typhoon to devastate your enemies. Each Japanese god offers unique ways to dominate the battlefield.

Battle across six new multiplayer and skirmish maps, inspired by the sacred mountains, misty forests, and mythic landscapes of Japanese legend. These maps are more than battlegrounds—they’re living mythologies waiting to be conquered.

Whether facing friends online or perfecting your build orders in solo skirmish, these new environments offer fresh tactical challenges and strategic depth.

[h2]Journey from Farmer to Hero: An All-New Campaign[/h2]


Heavenly Spear follows Yasuko, a peaceful farmer’s daughter whose destiny changes when she discovers a magical spear hidden in the countryside. As war looms and chaos spreads across the land, Yasuko is thrust into a world of gods, monsters, and mortal ambition. With the guidance of Akari, guardian of the spear, Yasuko must uncover the relic’s secrets and prevent it from falling into the hands of Kagemasa, a ruthless warlord who seeks to imprison the sun goddess Amaterasu and claim godhood for himself.

Yasuko’s journey spans 12 hand-crafted campaign missions, each rich with cinematic storytelling, unforgettable characters, and escalating stakes. Along the way, she’ll face mythical beasts, forge divine alliances, battling against Kagemasa to restore balance to the world.

[hr][/hr][h3]Pre-Order Heavenly Spear Now![/h3]
Pre-order Heavenly Spear now on Steam and receive a 15% discount!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2991180/Age_of_Mythology_Retold__Heavenly_Spear/

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Wednesday, July 23 @ 10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET / 17:00 UTC (Countdown)
EST. DOWNTIME: 1-2 HOURS

[h3]GAMES & PLATFORMS IMPACTED[/h3]

• Age of Mythology: Retold (Steam / Microsoft Store / Xbox / PlayStation 5)

[h3]OBJECTIVES[/h3]

• Routine server updates and maintenance.

[h3]DETAILS[/h3]This coming Wednesday, July 23rd, 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!

[p]Hello Heroes!

Looking to see what's ahead for our next update? Then look no further as we have just enabled the Public Update Preview Program for our July Update.

Jump in to get an early look at the upcoming changes, see which bugs have been addressed, and help make our release even better by helping us find any last minute issues and lending your voice to our forums.

More information on July's Public Update Preview Program can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1934680/discussions/5/598532381694083221/


Please join us in strengthening the quality of Age of Mythology: Retold by sharing your voice on the official 🛠 Public Update Preview forums. (Note that you must own the game and login to Steam to access the PUP forum.) We’re definitely listening and looking for every opportunity to make this the game you love to play! :)

- The World's Edge Team[/p]

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Watch top AoM players face off in the ultimate test of strategy & skill. Don't miss the epic finale of Mythic Wars, a $10,000 Age of Mythology: Retold tournament hosted by Yodesla!

Watch live on Twitch and YouTube![/p]