Age of Empires 2 will always have my heart. Alongside Command and Conquer, it’s one of the first RTS games that I ever played, and served as a gateway to the wider world of 4X and strategy that I remain enamored with today. Cities Skylines 2 has been my game of choice this year. I imagine Civilization 7 will capture a lot of my time in the next 12 months. But three years since it first launched, Age of Empires 4 is still a serious contender for the best medieval melee and management sims on PC. Now, Relic Entertainment confirms that new AoE 4 DLC is happening, and hints at when it will be released. The first fresh release since 2023’s The Sultans Ascend, seems like we can expect the Age of Empires 4 DLC relatively soon.
Monday October 28 marked the third anniversary of Age of Empires 4, the gigantic RTS game sequel split over five campaigns (six with the Sultans DLC). Personally, I like the Norman conquest missions the most. Compared to AoE 3, which jumps forward a couple of hundred years and focuses on the colonization of the New World, playing as the Normans in AoE 4 is the closest you can get to that classic Age of Empires 2 experience. To this day, I miss the sound of my Briton villagers: “Correctus. Buildun. Yey.” Not to put too much stock into simple nostalgia, but at its best, Age of Empires 4 feels like the good old days.
And now it’s springing back to life with a new DLC. In a post celebrating the game’s third birthday, Relic Entertainment notes that this fresh downloadable material will arrive in 2025.
“Happy three-year anniversary to Age of Empires 4,” the studio says. “A huge thank you to our incredible community for joining us on this epic journey from launch to a new DLC in 2025.” The studio also mentions a new DLC in the notes for AoE 4’s most recent patch. “2025 is going to bring loads of new content to Age of Empires 4,” Relic says. “We’ve hinted at larger plans and wanted to confirm that the team is working on DLC for 2025. We’ll be sharing more news in the new year.”
The Sultans Ascend adds an entirely new campaign to Age of Empires 4’s single player, so hopefully the next DLC will deliver something similar. We’ve got the Normans, the Hundred Years War, the rise of Moscow, the history of the Mongolian empire, and the Sultans already. Maybe something connected to Spain, or perhaps the Vikings. We’ll have to see.
Until then, check out some of the best strategy games, or maybe get the best 4X games available on PC.
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