Age of Empires Announced for Xbox Consoles
After nearly a year of rumors, Microsoft has officially revealed that the Age of Empires franchise is coming to Xbox platforms. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition will release on January 31, 2023, while Age of Empires IV has been given an ambiguous "2023" release window. The previously PC-exclusive games will be made available on Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and will also be playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming. Newcomers to the series will be happy to know that, since these are first-party games, both games can be expected at launch on Xbox Game Pass.
The console releases for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires IV were announced in a new trailer shared on the franchise's official Twitter account. The trailer actually opens by showcasing a plethora of requests from fans asking to see the series on Xbox. It's a great way of illustrating just how long people have been waiting to see this announcement! Readers can check out the trailer embedded below.
The original Age of Empires released in 1997, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of the series. While the series has found a lot of success over the years, Age of Empires has mostly been confined to PC. Ironically, the series appeared on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms long before Xbox! A port of Age of Empires II released on PlayStation 2 back in 2001, while an Age of Empires spin-off game released on Nintendo DS in 2006. It's been more than 15 years since the series was made available on a platform besides PC, but it seems that wait is nearly at an end. Hopefully Microsoft will have a lot more information about these ports over the coming months!
Age of Empires IV is available now on PC and will release on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in 2023. Until then, readers can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.
Are you excited to see these two Age of Empires games on Xbox consoles? Have you played the series on PC? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!