Praise the RTS gods and goddesses. Gameplay for the long-anticipated Age of Empires 4 is finally (we hope) coming in November. If a literal wink is to be believed, gameplay will be shown off at Microsoft’s XO19 fan event in London, England, later this year. The event runs from November 14-16.
The news comes from a GameStar interview with General Manager Marketing for Xbox Aaron Greenberg (via PC Gamer).
At about 5:55:03 in the GameStar interview stream, which we’ve included below for quick reference, Greenberg says when asked when players will get to see gameplay of AoE 4:
Listen, our next big beat is going to be XO19. I would suggest people watch that. That’s also November 14. It’s the day that Age [of Empires 2: Definitive Edition] launches. We will be celebrating … I cannot confirm nor deny anything [winks at the camera]. But you’ll definitely want to tune in … that’ll be our biggest Inside Xbox event of the year.
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Another interesting tidbit of information that’s been hinted at for some time is that all new Xbox titles will come to GamePass on PC. Greenberg said while speaking to GameStar about digital games distribution and subscription models like GamePass:
We’re going to bring all of our titles when they launch into GamePass on PC, included in the service. We’ve got a lot of great third-party support as well, and we know a lot of people both play on the PC and on console.
That’s great, so we have options for them but even just as a dedicated PC gamer, we’re working with a lot of the big PC publishers to bring their titles and them reach a broader audience as well … so the key there is to overdeliver on value but consumers obviously still have choice if they want to subscribe or buy.
Suffice it to say, that’s a pretty clear indication that Age of Empires 4 will be included in GamePass at launch, whenever that may be. As of this writing, there is still no release window for the game. However, that may very well change at XO19 in a little less than three months.
Age of Empires 4 was announced at E3 2017. Since then, Microsoft has been incredibly tight-lipped about the next installment to the beloved real-time strategy franchise. However, that silence hasn’t kept fans from dreaming of what additions the game might bring, or including it their most-anticipated RTS lists.
November 14 is also an important date for Age fans because it’s when Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition finally launches. That game will bring updated visuals to the decades-old strategy game, as well as brand-new content. It is an upgrade to 2013’s Age of Empires 2: HD.
