Rumor: Microsoft Curious If Fans Will Play A 4X Massive Multiplayer Age Of Empires
Microsoft seems to be gauging interest in a new kind of Age of Empires game.
IdleSloth shared this information on Twitter, which he then got from Reddit:
“(FYI) According to a Survey Microsoft is gauging interest in a 4X massively multiplayer (Free To Play) Age of Empires game
This survey was found on an Instagram ad from “Mobile game research”
Just to set the record straight, Microsoft was always the publisher of the Age of Empiresfranchise, all the way back in 1997. The original life cycle for the franchise ran until 2005, exclusively on Windows and made by Ensemble Studios. Ensemble Studios themselves would shut down in 2009, following an announcement that they would do so a year before, and after they would finish work on Halo Wars.
Microsoft briefly tried to use Age of Empires to lure gamers into Windows Live, to some success. If you are playing any Age of Empires game now, it’s likely because Microsoft started publishing the games to Steam from 2017.
Even more recently, Microsoft decided to adapt the franchise over to consoles, seeing the newfound success of real time strategy games on the platforms. That includes games like Crusader Kings 3, and, oh yes, Pikmin 4.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition released to the Xbox Series X|S earlier this year. It had proven to age like fine wine, garnering a respectable 86 on Metacritic.
Now, console gamers do also have a new Age of Empires game to look forward to, with a port of Age of Empires IV also coming to Xbox Series X|S at some point in 2023. But based on this survey, Microsoft seems to want to do new things with the franchise.
It may get confusing for gamers who aren’t really into strategy games, but Age of Empires isn’t actually a 4X game itself. 4X, for the
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