The Age of Empires series is one of the oldest and highest
regarded RTS games, and fans have been eager to see new details regarding the
next game in the series, Age of Empires IV. Since it was first announced
back in 2017, Relic Entertainment has been relatively light on details for the
title. However, the developers – in partnership with Microsoft themselves –
hosted a “Fan Preview” event a couple of days ago, where they finally unveiled
new features, gameplay footage, and even a release window for the highly
anticipated title.
The last main entry into the series was released over fifteen years ago, back in 2005, so there’s certainly been a long time for Relic Entertainment to come up with brand new features for the new title, and all of that time certainly shows in the preview. Some of the new features seen present within the title range from no-brainers like improved visuals, 4K, and HDR support to various gameplay improvements and additional upgrades and new units.
New Features Coming to the Series
According to Relic Entertainment, there will be eight civilizations included within the base game, and four of them are already known: the Mongols, Chinese, and English, which are three returning units, as well as the Delhi Sultanate, which are brand new to the series. Not a lot of information was given in regards to each civilization’s unique traits and abilities, though we did see that the Mongols were getting a big upgrade with the added ability to pack up and move their buildings and towns.
Relic Entertainment also emphasized during the event how they wanted to add quite a lot of asymmetry to the civilizations; one of their goals was to make sure each one played differently in order to add to the game’s replayability and offer a wider range of experiences for players depending on their chosen civilization. The randomly generated maps will also factor into each civilization’s strengths and weaknesses; for example, maps with lots of tight corners and edges may benefit the defense-heavy English, whilst more open maps would better benefit the Mongols thanks to their highly mobile towns and units.
Many other features were announced for the upcoming sequel, including upgraded combat, new mechanics, and even a brand new story mode, which will include four separate campaigns included. The new campaign mode will also feature documentary footage with narration of the real-life historical events that players will experience in-game. It was announced that Age of Empires IV will be released in Fall 2021, so fans of the series thankfully won’t have to wait too long before getting their hands on the new game.
About the Series
Age of Empires first began on Windows PC, released way back in 1997. Originally developed by Ensemble Studios, the studio was acquired by Microsoft in 2001 and the series shifted development studios in 2009 after Ensemble Studios’ closure. Relic Entertainment, now spear-heading the series, is no stranger to RTS games. Some of the studio’s previous work includes such classics as the Company of Heroes series, Homeworld, and Warhammer 40,000.
Age of Empires has gone on to sell over 20 million copies to date, with the series spanning five major titles and several spin-offs. The series is quite possibly one of the most recognizable and popular RTS.
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At Epoch Xperience, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch Xperience’s service on our parent site, SJR Research.
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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.)