Age of Empires IV

Age of Empires IV
Game
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General information
Type	Main series title
Release patch	Update 7274
Latest version	Patch 15.1.7149
Opening track
Development information
Developers	Relic Entertainment Forgotten Empires Climax Studios World's Edge
Publishers	Xbox Game Studios
Genre	Real-time strategy
Platforms	Windows Xbox
Release date
Windows	October 28, 2021
Xbox	August 22, 2023
PlayStation 5	November 4, 2025
Expansions
Anniversary Edition The Sultans Ascend Knights of Cross and Rose Dynasties of the East

Age of Empires IV releases
2021–2025
Year	Releases
2021	Age of Empires IV
2022	Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
2023	Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend
2024
2025	Age of Empires IV: Knights of Cross and Rose    Age of Empires IV: Dynasties of the East

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November	Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend
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April	Age of Empires IV: Knights of Cross and Rose
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November	Age of Empires IV: Dynasties of the East
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Age of Empires IV is a real-time strategy game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is the fourth main title in the Age of Empires series and runs on a new iteration of Relic's Essence Engine. Mikolai Stroinski composed the soundtrack. It was released as update 7274.

Developments

Announced on August 21, 2017, it released on October 28, 2021. At the X019 event, in-engine gameplay footage along with the English and Mongol civilizations were revealed on November 14, 2019.

On August 23, 2022, the Ottomans and Malians were announced as a free expansion, the Anniversary Edition, which was released on October 25, 2022. Content released with this expansion is marked with ⁺.

It was initially available only on PC (through Steam and Windows Store), and was later launched on Xbox on August 22, 2023. On March 12, 2024, with update 10.0.576, it received cross-play between PC and Xbox versions of the game.

On August 23, 2023, a new expansion was announced, The Sultans Ascend, which was released on November 14, 2023. Content released with this expansion is marked with ^x.

On October 17, 2024, it was stated that a new expansion is planned for release in 2025. On February 4, 2025, it was revealed that there were two expansions planned, with the first called Age of Empires IV: Knights of Cross and Rose, due to release on April 8, and the second one, Dynasties of the East, to be released on November 4, 2025, alongside the PlayStation 5 release of the game.

Features

Like Age of Empires II, the game is set in the post-classical period. The start and end of the covered time frame is in general shifted slightly forward compared to Age of Empires II, from post-Migration Era to well into the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Migration Era civilizations like the Goths and Huns are missing, and equivalent civilizations appear in their post-Migration Era forms (i.e. French instead of Franks, English instead of Britons), and in the Imperial Age, units typically feature more advanced gunpowder technologies and armor designs.

The list of notable features in Age of Empires IV includes, but is not limited to:

• Activated unit abilities
• Asymmetric civilization design
• Automatically generated paths and roads
• Grid-based building placement
• Fire mechanic for building destruction
• Landmark buildings for Age advancement
• Stealth Forest ambushes
• Stone walls immune to non-siege attacks
• Unit combat and movement on walls
• Unit Line of Sight (LOS) and movement limited by obstructions (e.g. forests)
• Unlimited unit selection cap

Game modes

Main article: Game mode (Age of Empires IV)

Age of Empires IV features many different game modes and settings available to play in single player mode against AIs as well as against other human players in multiplayer ranked, quick match, and custom formats.

Campaigns

The game includes five (six for Xbox - the extra is marked with *) single-player campaigns themselves broken down into grouped scenarios. Each campaign covers the events of a historical period from the perspective of the particular civilization and accompanied by documentary-style narration and cinematics:

• The Normans
• The Hundred Years War
• The Mongol Empire
• The Rise of Moscow
• The Rise of a King*
• The Sultans Ascend^x

Art of War

The Art of War is a special type of campaign across the series to help players learn the basics of the game.

• Early Economy
• Late Economy
• Basic Combat
• Early Siege
• Late Siege
• Advanced Combat
• Ottomans⁺
• Malians⁺

Civilizations

Age of Empires IV launched with eight civilizations. Two were added with the first free expansion and The Sultans Ascend each, with the latter also adding four variant civilizations. Two additional variants were added with the Knights of Cross and Rose expansion, and four more with Dynasties of the East.

• Abbasid Dynasty
• Ayyubids^S
• Byzantines^S
• Chinese
• Delhi Sultanate
• French
• English
• Golden Horde^D
• Holy Roman Empire
• House of Lancaster^K
• Japanese^S
• Jeanne d'Arc^S
• Knights Templar^K
• Macedonian Dynasty^D
• Malians^A
• Mongols
• Order of the Dragon^S
• Ottomans^A
• Rus
• Sengoku Daimyo^D
• Tughlaq Dynasty^D
• Zhu Xi's Legacy^S

^A : Anniversary Edition

^S : The Sultans Ascend

^K : Knights of Cross and Rose

^D : Dynasties of the East

Ages

Age of Empires IV has four Ages, with the same names as in Age of Empires II.

• Dark Age
• Feudal Age
• Castle Age
• Imperial Age

Win conditions

Main article: Victory#Age of Empires IV

Resources

• Gold Vein (Gold Source)
• Stone Outcropping (Stone Source)
• Tree (Wood Source)

Food sources

• Sheep
• Boar
• Deer
• Berry Bush
• Farm/Olive Grove (building)
• Fish
• Cattle

Units

Main article: Unit (Age of Empires IV)

A list of generic units can be found here.

Buildings

Main article: Building (Age of Empires IV)

Technologies

Main article: Technology (Age of Empires IV)

Masteries

Main article: Mastery

Trivia

• The announcement trailers were voiced by Charles Dance.

Age of Empires IV communities

• Discord: Age of Empires IV: https://discord.gg/t3Wh5kSnaa
• Twitter: Age of Empires: https://twitter.com/AgeOfEmpires?s=20
• Facebook: Age of Empires IV: https://www.facebook.com/AgeofEmpiresIV/
• Reddit: Age of Empires IV: https://www.reddit.com/r/aoe4/
• AoE4 World: https://aoe4world.com/ - an unofficial platform for checking the dataset, statistics of multiplayer games, and much more

Gallery

An English town in Age of Empires IV.

An English town in Age of Empires IV, featuring the new buildings and graphic style.

An English town in Age of Empires IV, featuring new units including those which patrol on the walls.

An English town in Age of Empires IV, featuring wheat farms.

A Mongolian army in Age of Empires IV.

A Mongolian army in Age of Empires IV, featuring new units and some Mongolian buildings in the background.

An English town in Age of Empires IV, featuring an army of infantry marching to the gates.

A Mongolian army in Age of Empires IV, featuring some cavalry and trebuchets.

A Mongolian army in Age of Empires IV, featuring some cavalry and trebuchets.

A battle between the English and the Mongolian army in Age of Empires IV.

A Mongolian siege upon an English town in Age of Empires IV, featuring detailed building destruction.

A bird's-eye view of a Mongolian siege upon an English town in Age of Empires IV.

Age of Empires IV Game Director, Quinn Duffy, playing the pre-alpha version of Age of Empires IV.

A screenshot of Age of Empires IV, featuring the new advanced graphics with better-looking rivers.

An English castle in the middle of an English town in Age of Empires IV.

A Mongolian camp in Age of Empires IV, featuring their unique-looking buildings and army.

A bird's-eye view of a Mongolian camp in Age of Empires IV, featuring some villagers and sheep.

A Mongolian leader overlooking an English town in Age of Empires IV.

Jeanne d'Arc leading a French army as seen in the release trailer

Videos

Age of Empires IV - X019 - Gameplay Reveal

Age of Empires IV Behind the Scenes

Age of Empires IV - Gameplay Trailer

Age of Empires IV - Official Launch Trailer

Age of Empires IV- Anniversary Edition – Official Console Launch Trailer