Age of Empires Mobile Unveiled From Developer of Call of Duty Mobile, Pokemon Unite

ign.com:

World's Edge studio and TiMi Studio Group today revealed they are working together to bring Age of Empires to mobile devices, with a planned release later this year.

Age of Empires Mobile will be a free-to-play strategy game with in-game purchases, which will include items to speed up progression and obtain resources. Like the PC games, Age of Empires mobile will feature base building, empire building, combat, and RTS elements. But it's not strictly an RTS game - rather, it's a mix of different strategy mechanics, and will also see certain elements of customization for mobile devices. Available characters will span a number of historical eras including the Chinese, Roman, Frank, and Byzantium empires, and will include King Arthur, Joan of Arc, Julius Caesar, Leonidas I, Alexander I, Khalid, Durgavati, and the Queen of Shiba. Players will also be able to compete both alongside and against one another in both 1v1 play and larger siege battles. More content is planned to be added to the game as time goes on.

While mainline Age of Empires games have been developed by World's Edge, Age of Empires Mobile is being made by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio, the same studio that developed Call of Duty Mobile, Honor of Kings, and Pokemon Unite. We spoke with producer Robin Xin and TiMi Studio Group general manager Brayden Fan via email ahead of the announcement to learn a bit more about the partnership, and how it came to be.

So why did TiMi choose the Age of Empires franchise specifically as its next major mobile partnership project? One reason might be that a number of the developers there are big fans of the series. Xin is, certainly, saying it was his introduction to the RTS genre and calling the series "iconic."

"The original title was how I learned to use a mouse and keyboard," Xin says. "So when you grow up playing Age of Empires, you learn the different aspects of the game. First off I was always trying to build my base to be more powerful. Then, I got into the combat. And