Since its debut 25 years ago, the classic real-time strategy franchise Age of Empires, published by Microsoft, is coming to Xbox for the first time at the end of January. Age of Empires 2: Definitive Editionis the 2019 remaster of the 1999 game and launches January 31st via Xbox Game Pass. Age of Empires 4 Microsoft said on Tuesday that it plans to get a console release “later this year.”
The announcement didn’t specify which Xbox consoles would get the new version, but it didn’t say both games would be available via the Microsoft Store, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The console version still supports keyboard and mouse input and can also be played with a controller.
Age of Empires 4 — and all its trebuchets — launched on October 28, 2021, on PC Game Pass on the same day.
“We knew that bringing the complexity of RTS to the Xbox console was a huge undertaking and had to be approached carefully and carefully,” co-developer World’s Edge said in a statement Tuesday. increase. “The team has worked hard to provide an experience that not only uses a controller, but also teaches players how to play on Xbox.”
Controller input in Age of Empires can be a little tricky as the game requires clicking different units and scrolling through maps. The Xbox version includes a tutorial that shows new users how to play the game and controller-specific inputs. The developers have also added game AI to help make resource management “efficient and intuitive.”
Age of Empires 2 When Age of Empires 4 Supports cross-platform play, allowing console users to play alongside veterans on Windows PC. So we’ll see later how the Xbox version measures up against its mouse and keyboard rivals.
