It’s so beloved, in fact, that a small but vocal minority of its players have been rooting for AoE IV to fail so as not to split the fan base. Fans have been both clamoring for a new entry and worrying that a new entry won’t do the series justice.Īge of Empires IV feels like an attempt to capitalize on AoE II’s momentum while welcoming new fans to the series-and to a real-time strategy (RTS) genre that’s suffered a dearth of major releases-while sloughing off 22 years of accumulated nuances and oddities that have made AoE II both beloved by fans and intimidating to newcomers. Released in 1999, AoE II is now seeing tournaments with 75,000 viewers and $87,000 prize pools, thanks to a vibrant Twitch and YouTube scene, and the release of 2019’s Definitive Edition. That it even exists is partially because Age of Empires II has enjoyed a massive resurgence. Age of Empires IV is the first mainline Age of Empires game in 16 years, and a wait of that magnitude creates expectations.
