Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition News

Now Available: The Age III DE Public Update Preview (PUP) Program

Hello everyone! Today we're trying something new with an experimental program, the Public Update Preview program, or "PUP" for short. These Update Previews will not only provide a sneak peek to owners of the game, but an opportunity for passionate players to help us squash issues before they ever arise in our official patches.

Starting today, everyone that owns Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition on Steam will have immediate access to the Public Update Preview. This is a publicly-available, Steam 'BETA' branch accessible via your Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition properties menu. Opting into it will give you access to game content that is actively in development for the next game update.

Instructions on how to access the branch can be found here!

These builds will sometimes contain new features, content, or bug fixes—it really depends on what we happen to be doing at the time—but it means that you're invited to take a look behind the curtain and preview everything that’s coming to the game in the weeks leading up to a release.

Whenever we make these builds available, you’ll see a Public Update Preview branch appear in your Steam 'BETA' list with a name similar to this month's branch:

update-preview – Public Update Preview
(Note that you may need to relaunch Steam.)

You don’t need to redeem any keys or use any passwords; the branch will show up whenever a build is available, and we’ll post in our channels to let you know it’s there.

This is an experiment for us, and you should expect that we’ll change how we’re doing this over time as we learn the best way to engage with you, collect your feedback, and make sure this process is having the best possible impact on your game's updates. We won’t be able to fix everything you may find or change everything you suggest, but our hope is that you’ll see your feedback represented over time and, together, enhance the value of the official updates we introduce to the game.

This afternoon, we’re sending the program’s first home city shipment with build #100.12.28975.0, which primarily contains a number of bug fixes. We plan to update the build throughout this process and as batches of fixes or changes come in, but for now, you can start discussing the build and reporting issues in the brand-new PUP forum:

🛠 Public Update Preview
(Note that you must own the game and login to Steam to access the PUP forum.)

Once we’re ready to start prepping for the update to go Live, a few things will happen:

We’ll pull back the branch so it no longer appears in your Steam Beta list.
The PUP forum will be archived with all the threads about the current build.
A new branch and forum will appear again when we have a new build and branch to share.

That's it; those are most of the details you need to get started right away, and we'll continue building our FAQ over time as you ask your questions about the Public Update Preview program.

Please join us in strengthening the quality of Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition by sharing your voice - we’re definitely listening, and looking for every opportunity to make this the game you love to play :)

- The World's Edge Team

You have less than a month to unlock Age of Empires 3's US civ for free

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition received its first new civilisation earlier this year. The United States civ, which caused players to immediately question whether or not it was overpowered, can currently be purchased as a DLC pack or unlocked for free.

To get it for free, you need to complete a series of 50 in-game challenges that are themed around each of the United States' 50 states, collectively called the '50 state challenge'. Considering you can only cash in three challenges a day, you'll need at least 17 days in order to unlock the US without paying any money.

That's over two weeks of dedicated play, which is a bit of a commitment, but the developer has always said that the community would be given plenty of notice as to when the 50 state challenge would end. That notice has been given, and you've got until June 22 to grab the US civ for free. After that, you'll only be able to unlock the new civilisation by purchasing it for the price of $4.99 / £3.99.

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United States Civilization Event Ends June 22nd!

Greetings, adventurers! Today, we have a few updates for you around the United States Civilization challenges for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition!

First, we’ve heard some concerns about what happens after you unlock the Civilization, and we’re here to help clarify! First off, if you have unlocked the United States Civilization by completing all 50 challenges, you will own it permanently! We understand that you might be seeing information to purchase the DLC despite achieving this goal: Please do not be alarmed, all of you who worked tirelessly for your reward are not in danger of losing it! We understand this is a little confusing; since you have not technically purchased the DLC, it will continue to show up despite owning the content of it! Thank you very much for bringing it to our attention, and we hope this PSA helps ease your nerves!

For the rest of you still battling your way up; NEVER FEAR! You still have plenty of time to accomplish these tasks set before you. In fact, you have until JUNE 22, 2021, at 11:59 PM PDT / JUNE 23, 2021, at 2:59 AM EDT / 0659 UTC until the event ends for good!

Thank you!
— The Age of Empires Team

Server Maintenance - Monday, May 17

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Monday, May 17 @ 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)

[h3]OBJECTIVES[/h3]

Routine server updates and maintenance.

[h3]DETAILS[/h3]This coming Monday, May 17th, 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!

Latest Age of Empires 3 DE patch breaks the new US civ's 50 state challenge

Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition has just received a new patch, but it has already run into problems. The patch notes themselves are benign - some custom hotkey profiles, various tweaks and bugfixes, but nothing out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, the game's state on Steam has been rolled back while the developers look into reports concerning the recently introduced US civilisation.

Some players have noted that their progress in the 50 state challenge has been reset post-patch. As a reminder, Age of Empires 3 players can unlock the new US civ for free provided they complete a series of 50 in-game challenges, each one themed around a specific US state. Once you've done all of them, you're be able to play the new US civ for free, although it's also available as a premium DLC.

The free path however is only going to be available for a limited amount of time. While Forgotten Empires has stated it would give plenty of notice as to when the promotion will end, you can only complete three challenges a day. You're going to need a minimum of 17 days just to see everything through to the end. Having your progress reset to zero will perhaps interfere with this.

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