Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition News

To celebrate Women’s History Month, and back by popular demand- the Women of History Event is here! This month we’re shining the spotlight on the trailblazing women of history with a repeat of this special event, which includes several profile icons, mods, and more. Join us and don’t miss out on this amazing event this year!

• Unlock a Cheat Code!
  
• Unlock the Queen Visual Replacement for the King!
  
• Unlock the Princess Yodit Visual Replacement for your Gbeto!
  

Starting TODAY through April 5, complete in-game tasks within the time limit to unlock exclusive goodies!


*Each of the following challenges must be unlocked in order and on separate days:

🎯 The following bonus Icons have been permanently added to the library for you to enjoy!
🏆 Princess Yodit playing Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
🏆 Jimena
🏆 Sikelgaita

Remember: if you sign in to Xbox Live during the event, you’ll get to keep all of the mods and profile icons you’ve achieved! Sign in, earn your rewards, and enjoy!

We hope you enjoy this month’s Women of History event!

—The Age of Empires Team

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[h3]:savedisk:  1920x1080 || 1920x1200 || 2560X1080[/h3]

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Wednesday, March 23 @ 2:00p PT / 5:00p ET / 21:00 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, March 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 1 to 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!

Hosted by Age of Queens, the Queens’ Charity Clash continues with its second round of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition events: a 3v3 Deathmatch showmatch and a 2v2 showmatch featuring women from the Age II community. Read more about the month-long Women’s History Month fundraising event here: Announcing the Queens’ Charity Clash. Throughout the month women will be representing two charities: Girls Who Code and the Games and Online Harassment Hotline. All donations to Age of Queens during March will go toward these two charities.

Players will represent one of these charities and compete to score points in a variety of showmatch settings throughout the month. Throughout the events, donations will be collected into one giant fund. At the end, funds will be split between the two charities based on the outcome of the match. For example, if those playing for Girls Who Code win 60% of the games, then Girls Who Code will get 60% of all the donations collected.

[h3]For more information on streams and schedule:[/h3]
Find Out More!

It’s that time again! Visit the official Age of Empires forum to vote for your Ranked map pool for the next two weeks.

[h3]1v1 Random Maps[/h3]
✔ ARABIA
✔ ARENA
✔ HIDEOUT
✔ ISLANDS

[h3]Team Games[/h3]
✔ ARABIA
✔ ARENA
✔ BLACK FOREST
✔ ISLANDS
✔ NOMAD
✔ RUNESTONES

To participate in the community ranked map pool vote, you will need to login to the official Age forum using your free Microsoft account. Then, click the images below to jump to this week’s polls.

:alertalert: Polls are open until NOON Pacific on Sunday, March 20 (or 3:00p Eastern / 19:00 UTC), so be sure to cast your vote and check back to see which maps emerge victorious!

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is throwing a ball – Venetian style!

With the start of carnival season, we are excited to bring you a new set of challenges! So, dust off your fanciest and ball-worthy attire and put on your Venetian masks. You won’t want to miss out on some fun challenges and your chance to unlock some fancy rewards during the event.

Now through March 8th complete the in-game tasks within the time limit to unlock exclusive rewards!


Each of the following challenges must be unlocked in order and on separate days:




Remember: if you sign in to Xbox Live during the event, you’ll get to keep all of the mods and profile icons you’ve achieved! Sign in, earn your rewards, and enjoy!

We hope you enjoy the Venetian Ball Event!

—The Age of Empires Team