During Microsoft’s E3 2021 Xbox Game Showcase, Age of Empires 4 received a brand new gameplay trailer which showed off some of the upcoming game’s new features as well as a confirmation of the official release date. The extended trailer blended live-action video and in-game footage while showing off a bit of the upgraded graphics and combat system.

Age of Empires IV may look familiar to long-time fans of the series as it follows the game formula and gameplay style of previous games. Players take control of entire empires and are tasked with everything from managing resources, upgrading their civilization’s technology and architecture, building up armies, and waging war against other empires. In many ways, the series helped set the foundations for real-time strategy games, and this newest entry looks to be expanding upon that foundation in exciting ways.

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PC Gamer

Age of Empires is one of the oldest and most well-known real-time strategy games, with the series first launching in 1997 on PC. The franchise went on to sell over 25 million copies across three main installments and several spin-off titles. The series is known to cover various historical civilizations and periods, allowing players to pick an empire and essentially rewrite history by making their own choices that change the world around them.

Even though the last mainline entry into the series was released in 2005–over fifteen years ago–the series has continued to receive regular updates in the form of HD remasters and Definitive Editions of previous editions, with Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition even receiving new DLC through this year, with highlights like the new American civilization as free downloadable content. With so much continued support from the developers, series fans certainly have been waiting patiently for the series’ fourth mainline entry.

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Eurogamer

First revealed at Gamescom in 2017, Age of Empires IV didn’t appear again until two years later at Microsoft’s XO19 event in 2019. Since then, Microsoft and the series developers have revealed a slew of new features and content, including the game’s Chinese civilization, Delhi Sultanate civilization, and the Norman campaign.

The new trailer revealed that Age of Empires IV will be an Xbox console exclusive and would release on PC and Xbox Game Pass on day-one of launch. The trailer also confirmed Age of Empires IV to be launching later this year on October 28, 2021.

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(This article is credited to Ben Price. For as long as he can remember, Ben has always loved playing, discussing, and writing about video games. Since receiving his B.A. in English, he now writes about them for a living.)