World’s Edge Customer Voice director Emma Bridle officially revealed Tuesday morning that Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires 4 are coming to Xbox. Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition was confirmed for a January 31, 2023 release date with 4 planned to arrive on Xbox later in the year. Bridle also announced that the Xbox versions will be compatible with mouse and keyboard control schemes, as well as crossplay with the games’ PC versions. The games will reportedly be featured on the Xbox Cloud Gaming platform as well.
RELATED: Age of Empires Stream Next Month Will Include Announcements and Surprises
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition released in November 2019 as a remastered version of the classic PC strategy game. Age of Empires 2 stands among the most popular games in the series with the 1999 strategy game still holding a cult following to this day. It has also been a popular game of choice for modders, with fans making campaigns based on popular games like Doom.
The newest entry in the franchise, Age of Empires 4, launched late last year to critical acclaim. Fans and critics praised the game with its distinct and varied selection of civilizations among the areas receiving the most positive reception. Age of Empires 4 saw awards show success last year as well, winning Best Sim/Strategy Game at the 2021 Game Awards.
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires 4 will mark a first for the franchise as the first time Age of Empires has come to Xbox consoles. Despite the games being published by Microsoft, Age of Empires games have never appeared on the publisher’s home console. The franchise has largely stayed exclusive to PC for most of its life with only some spinoffs like Age of Empires: The Age of Kings released on PS2 and Nintendo DS. Age of Empires’ arrival on Xbox will mark a major new step for the iconic strategy game franchise.
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is available now for PC and releasing on Xbox consoles on January 31, 2023. Age of Empires 4 is available now for PC and releasing on Xbox consoles in 2023.
MORE: 15 RTS Games That Are Perfect For Newcomers to The Genre
Source: Microsoft
