Age of Empires IV

Age of Empires IV is a 2021 real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Relic Entertainment in partnership with World’s Edge, and published by Xbox Game Studios. Following the divisive colonial era of Age of Empires III, the franchise returned to its most beloved, universally acclaimed roots: the Middle Ages. Designed as a modern, spiritual successor to Age of Empires II, the game sought to capture the methodical macro-management of the 1999 classic while introducing the distinct, highly asymmetrical faction design that Relic Entertainment is famous for (having developed the Company of Heroes and Dawn of War franchises).

The narrative presentation of the single-player campaigns is totally unique to the franchise. Instead of traditional animated cutscenes or in-engine storytelling, Age of Empires IV utilizes stunning, BBC-style historical documentary footage. Players watch high-definition drone shots of modern-day historical sites (like Hastings or the Great Wall of China) while golden, augmented-reality wireframes of medieval soldiers and castles are superimposed over the terrain, detailing the true history of the conflicts before seamlessly transitioning into the gameplay.

Gameplay

While Age of Empires IV brings back the classic four-resource economy (Food, Wood, Gold, Stone) and the familiar progression through the Dark, Feudal, Castle, and Imperial Ages, it completely overhauls how civilizations operate and interact with the map.

Key gameplay mechanics include:

Asymmetrical Civilizations: Unlike AoE2, where factions share a nearly identical tech tree, the civilizations in AoE4 play wildly differently. For example, the Mongols are nomadic—they can literally pack up their Town Centers and military production buildings onto carts to relocate across the map, and they do not need to build houses. Meanwhile, the Delhi Sultanate researches all of their technologies completely for free, but at a heavily reduced speed that can only be accelerated by garrisoning Scholars in Mosques.
The Landmark System: You no longer simply pay resources at a Town Center to advance to the next Age. Instead, players must choose between two distinct “Landmarks” to construct. These are massive, expensive buildings that take time to build but offer permanent, civilization-altering buffs (like acting as a heavily fortified defensive keep, or constantly spawning free units).
Dynamic Sieges and Walls: Siege warfare was heavily revamped. Infantry can now actively climb up onto the battlements of stone walls to gain a massive height advantage and defend against incoming attacks. Consequently, massive siege engines like trebuchets, mangonels, and battering rams are absolutely required to crack open a fortified enemy base.
Stealth Forests: Map terrain features dense patches of “Stealth Forests.” Units hiding inside these woods are completely invisible to the enemy unless an enemy unit physically walks into the forest or a Scout tower is placed nearby, allowing for devastating ambushes.
Sacred Sites: Taking inspiration from Rise of Nations, players can achieve a “Sacred Victory” by capturing and holding neutral, heavily contested Sacred Sites scattered across the center of the map for a set duration, forcing aggressive mid-map skirmishes.

Development and Legacy

Upon its release on PC in late 2021, Age of Empires IV received highly positive reviews for successfully modernizing the classic formula without losing the soul of the franchise. It successfully established a massive competitive esports scene and received consistent updates to balance its heavily asymmetrical roster. Microsoft eventually expanded the game’s reach, launching an excellent, highly optimized console port for Xbox Series X/S in 2023, and eventually bringing the game to PlayStation 5 in late 2025.

The game has received robust, continuous expansion support. In late 2023, the massive The Sultans Ascend expansion added the Byzantines and Japanese, while pioneering the concept of “Variant Civilizations”—alternative versions of base factions with drastically altered mechanics (like the French-based Jeanne d’Arc civ, which relies heavily on leveling up a central hero unit).

Throughout 2025, the developers doubled down on this concept, releasing Knights of Cross and Rose (adding the Knights Templar and House of Lancaster) alongside a new Historical Battles mode, followed by Dynasties of the East, which introduced the roguelite “Crucible” single-player mode. Now, pushing into 2026, the game’s momentum remains staggering. Yue Fei’s Legacy launched in May 2026 (introducing the Jin Dynasty and a new Chinese-inspired campaign), and Relic has officially confirmed that the highly requested Vikings will arrive as a brand-new base civilization later in the year.

Key Features:

Asymmetrical Warfare — Command civilizations that feel fundamentally different from one another, from the defensive, castle-building English to the aggressive, nomadic Mongols.
Landmark Progression — Customize your strategy in every match by choosing which powerful historical Landmarks to construct to advance your Age.
Documentary Campaigns — Learn the true history of the Norman Conquest, the Hundred Years War, and the rise of the Mongol Empire through incredible, high-budget live-action documentaries.
True Siege Combat — Station your archers on the ramparts of massive stone walls to repel infantry, while maneuvering massive siege engines to shatter enemy defenses.
A Thriving Live-Service Strategy — Enjoy a constantly evolving meta with recent massive expansions like The Sultans Ascend, Dynasties of the East, and the 2026 addition of the Jin Dynasty.