X019 has had plenty of great announcements today as tons of new games have been announced. There’s been new IPs all over the place, game franchises like Yakuza and Minecraft are getting in on the fun too. But of the many new and returning franchises Microsoft has on show today, one of the names in the halls of gaming legend that wasn’t expected was Age of Empires. A new studio has taken over the reigns of the strategy franchise, with aims to give it a full rebirth for the modern era with Age of Empires 4. To that end, the developers have some new gameplay footage for us.
The new trailer for the RTS shows off a conflict boiling over between two in-game factions, the English and the Mongolians. Though these two legendary entities never came to blows historically, video games is the perfect arena to make that happen. Age of Empires 4 will follow the gameplay conventions of the franchise, with factions vying for dominance on a map populated by various resources and challenges. The last one standing wins, and the path to victory will be anything but easy.
As you build up your army and develop new technology, how you manage the development of your outposts and economy is key to winning. The combat in this entry will be much more tactical though, as new skill trees and technologies will allow for specialized units and structures that can turn the tide of battle to be more commonplace in individual games.
Overall the game looks rather impressive. The series has been given a new coat of paint, and has never looked as good as it does in Age of Empires 4. The colors are bright and vivid, and unit animations have been redone. The whole new look gives the sequel a much better feel for the modern era, which should help bring in new players who might have been turned off by the archaic look of previous entries.
No release date for Age of Empires IV has been announced yet, although it likely will be soon. Fans should expect more news about the game in 2020, probably within the next couple of months. The game is coming to Windows PC, along with the Xbox Game Pass. Check out the Age of Empires IV gameplay trailer below.
But if you want to get some RTS action before that, Age of Empires 2 – Definitive Edition just released on Steam today. You can pick it up for $19.99.
