Microsoft
It’s been 25 years since a small Dallas studio reimagined the old world through the vision of a real-time strategy game. Age of Empire the echo Monk and Lulu Because: parents believed their children would learn history; The children thought they were secretly playing. Experienced players know that Both were fine.
until now Age of Empire They didn’t always get the love he gets today. The rise of the Xbox led to the decline of PC gaming for Microsoft: like the community AoEThey are left to see for themselves. In a very real way, it was the passion of these geeks that led to Microsoft’s renewed interest and the release of a franchise. Last post2021 Age of Empires IV.
All games will continue to receive updates or DLC. Age of Empire game Heading to Xbox and mobileComplete with cross-play so console players can get their hands on classic RTS gameplay And Play with your PC loving friends. Also, Age of Legends You will eventually receive a final version. fourth age Creates momentumAdditionally, the anniversary release culminates in a year of updates designed to appeal to players who were ripped off at launch. AoE It’s now a point of real-time strategy pride and a shining gem in Microsoft’s lineup
Then on 25th October Check out the anniversary event— and enjoyed a surprisingly skilled group of loot-wielding poets performing the series’ popular music — spoke with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and World’s Edge studio head Michael Mann about the franchise’s past and future.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Wired: This is its 25th anniversary Age of EmpireAnd I know Phil, you’ve been with Microsoft for over 30 years. I saw that evolution in the franchise. But I think there was definitely a gap for real-time strategy and both Age of EmpireAnd Where does it feel good? Was there a moment when it was like Microsoft? age Which strategies are implemented in real time? And then, the second part of it, when and what did it flip? When I thought, wow, is it worth paying attention again?
Phil Spencer: So it’s a good idea to pull this off. I mean what we saw in it age To be honest, it wasn’t about the genre, it was about how the community continues to play. The games were still available and we just saw a vibrant community playing there And we haven’t been as actively involved in the community as Xbox. Unfortunately, when Xbox first launched I would say we shifted our focus away from PC and more towards consoles which have advantages e.g. sim-trip And ageSocieties are a little left to their own devices. And as we developed our game strategy and looked at players playing on every screen, we started to see franchises in our portfolio where the communities were active and quite large and actually participating in the game and interacting with each other. And age It was as one of those perks.
So we had a chance to find a good partner. and back age with leftovers [Entertainment]As a partner who knew Genre, we saw this as a great opportunity for us to just connect with the community they love. age. I would say the same about advertising ageThey come to the console just to show the community that we acknowledge their love for them Age of EmpireWhat it means to so many people and I’m proud that we can now play our role as IP owners and franchisees.
Michael Mann: I want to congratulate Ensemble Studios – they started the franchise 25 years ago. I know World’s Edge is also enjoying the celebration. But I also want to say to Tony Goodman and Bruce Shelley, all these guys did an amazing job 25 years ago in building this franchise that we are ambassadors of the future.
