Age of Empires is 25 years old and fans are shaping the franchise

It’s been 25 years since a small Dallas studio redesigned the ancient world through the prism of a real-time strategy game. Age of Empires Monk wololos said about our homes over and over again: Parents believed their children learned history; Children believed that they played secretly. And experienced players know that both were right.

still Age of Empires didn’t always get the love it does today. The rise of the Xbox caused PC gaming to take a back seat for Microsoft: communities like AoE‘s were left to their own devices. In a very real way, it was the passion of these possessed that led to Microsoft’s renewed attention and the release of the franchise’s newest entry, 2021 Age of Empires IV.

All games will continue to receive updates or DLCs. Age of Empires The games are geared towards Xbox and mobile devices, complete with cross-play so console players can get their hands on the RTS classic and play with their PC-loving friends. Likewise, age of mythology finally gets a definitive edition. Age IV is also gaining momentum, with an anniversary edition capping a year of updates designed to woo players who found it a little stripped down at launch. AoE is now a point of pride in real-time strategy and a shining jewel in Microsoft’s roster.

On October 25th, after watching the anniversary event – and enjoying a surprisingly skilled group of lute-wielding bards performing the series’ iconic music – I spoke to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and World’s Edge studio head Michael Mann about the past and future of the franchise.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

WIRED: So it’s the 25th anniversary of Age of Empires, and I know Phil, you’ve been with Microsoft for more than 30 years. You’ve seen this evolution of the franchise. But I think there was definitely a gap, both for real-time strategy and Age of Empires, where it didn’t look good. Was there ever a moment when Microsoft was like Age and the real time strategy genre is done? And then the second part of it is when and what did it flip? When you thought, wow, is it worth checking out again?

Phil Spencer: So it’s a good thread to pull on this one. I mean the thing we saw with Age To be honest, it was less about the genre and more about how the community played on. The games were still for sale, and we just saw a vibrant community of people playing out there. And we haven’t actively engaged with the community as Xbox. When Xbox first started I’d regret to say that we shifted our focus away from PC and towards console, which meant franchises like flight sim and Age– the communities were left to their own devices a little. And as we evolved our gaming strategy and looked at players playing on every screen, we started looking at franchises in our portfolio where the communities were active, fairly large, and really connected to the game and to each other. and Age was right there as one of those franchises.

So we had the opportunity to find a good partner. And to come back Age with relic [Entertainment]a partner who knew the genre we saw as a great opportunity for us to really meet the community where they were with their love for Age. And I would say the same about the announcements Agecoming to console and just trying to show the community that we recognize their love Age of Empireswhat it means to so many people and I’m proud that we can now step up and do our part as IP owners and administrators of the franchise.

Michael Man: I also want to congratulate Ensemble Studios – they started the franchise 25 years ago. I know World’s Edge will enjoy the celebration as well. But I also just want to reach out and say, Tony Goodman, Bruce Shelley, all of these people did an amazing job 25 years ago to create this franchise that we are ambassadors for the future.