Really sad to see a franchise banning creators from a partner program because they talk negatively about it. I thought AoE was above that toxic culture. And a bit lame considering they were in the wrong in the first place for not paying him.
Censorship is not ok, they should have tried to resolve the situation with the creator first. Also it shouldn’t affect his involvement with the whole franchise (maybe just with the mobile game in question). He always supported and talked positively about Age 4.
I think personally I will take a break from AoE 4 now. Maybe I’ll give another game a shot. Probably something indie that doesn’t have a big corp making decision in the back.
Not sure if the decision comes from Relics or Microsoft, but I have doubt it’s probably Microsoft, so I’m not blaming Relics until proven otherwise.
His video that got taken down was about Age of Empires Mobile, which is obviously being developed not by Microsoft or World’s Edge, but by TiMi. But the fact remains that Microsoft has given TiMi the licence to use their brand, so anything bad done by TiMi in connection with Age of Empires is Microsoft’s fault.
And even if the original decision to force him to take down the video didn’t come from Microsoft, removing him from the Age Franchise Partner programme must have come from Microsoft/World’s Edge, since it is an overarching thing over the whole franchise, including AoE2 and AoE4, not just AoE Mobile. So Microsoft is absolutely involved here.
Another fine example of management harming this series. They got to be gunning for some kind of world record. It is sad to see them go after Age of Noob considering all the effort he has put in, in contrast to the complete lack of communication and effort from any managers on payroll, if there even still is any.
We’ve suffered years of dreadful communication yet they have one person out there with lightning speed reaction just for this situation. Great work guys, really.
Hey Achronic, out of interest, why did you delete your own post about this? From the looks of it, it was honestly a good and direct criticism that deserved to be said.
I’ve seen a lot of internet rumours about it being censorship, but is there something official to that effect? This conversation seems to be swayed by emotions, outrage and disbelief for the most part, and it just seems like that’s a result of internet crusaders more than reason. It is reasonable to be opposed to injustice, so it’s not surprising to see people get activated. But why jump to censorship?
I liked Age of Noobs videos and I was very sad to see him quit 3 months ago. It’s sadder for me to see fans of his and the series tear at the fabric of the community in reaction to these events, even blaming Microsoft for what is happening. With nothing being confirmed officially I don’t understand why someone would blame anyone for this.
One of the things I would quantify as a part of this community’s toxic culture is the reactivity to information with small amounts of context. It is genuinely confusing to see people attack something so quickly and confidently for something that they also profess to have support for and dedication to. It feels to me that there is a core of the fanbase that enjoys attacking the developers/publishers over anything and everything they perceive as negative… regardless of truth or merit.
He was removed from the Age Franchise Partner programme. TiMi doesn’t have the power to do that.
Microsoft is also ultimately responsible for him not getting paid, and for him being forced to take down the video criticising the fact that he’s not getting paid. Because even if it was TiMi that did it, Microsoft has allowed TiMi to act on their behalf by publicly giving them the rights to the Age franchise. Anything TiMi may do reflects on their brand, and they deserve both praise and criticism for it, as appropriate.
It is genuinely confusing to see people attack something so quickly and confidently for something that they also profess to have support for and dedication to
This may be, in no small part, because the game itself feels like an attack on that dedication. As the article posted in another thread from Android Police says, “Age of Empires Mobile is pure trash”. Now, we obviously haven’t played it, but they have, and we have seen previews that certainly at least seem to support that conclusion.
So TiMi and Age of Empires Mobile have a big hill to climb if they want to earn goodwill from the community. Censoring videos from longtime dedicated creators is not going to earn them that goodwill.
I actually agree with this heavily. Mobile games are absolutely disgusting with how they are designed to exploit the player. Age of Empires being represented by a blatant cash grab is detestable. It deserves every ounce of scorn for that.
I would really like more information on the situation. If this is because of that review, then I’m in full agreement. It’s a pretty awful state of affairs if negative criticism leads to being pushed out of the system. That is literally censorship. My reaction of skepticism is mostly because of how serious the situation is because of that. I just can’t take rumors at face value because of the gravity. It sets a standard for what we should expect from any of the other creators.
Any official confirmation would be greatly appreciated.
My friend, in the very video you linked in your post, I never said I’m fully quitting. I explicitly say that I will, at the very least, cover the new releases amongst occasional others. I mention this towards the end.
Edit: Removed some text. Not really relevant.
There’s a reason why I used very specific language in both videos. There’s also a reason why I don’t comment to clarify any of the discourse online.
I will say that I do like your stance of not overreacting until you have further information. You should always keep this healthy cynicism. Cheers.
I always hold the opinion that “if something is rotten outside it is more rotten inside”.
I have been sensing serious management problems of this entire series since around a year ago. From the hurried DLCs, to the disappearance of communication, to the cringe social events, etc. You know when CA or Blizzard messed up relations with the players and creators, and made really bad decisions, they still maintained normal to good communications on the superficial level before they blew up.
Here it has already been very bad on the surface. I fear the management could be worse than those previous examples.
Nowadays superficial works are the top priority. If they could not even make it look good on the surface, very likely it is far worse underneath. I only see crap wrapped in sugar but rarely sugar wrapped in crap.
I’m curious what management problems you’ve been sensing. Because I have to say, from my perspective, I didn’t see any problems up until literally the February announcement. I even had high hopes for Age of Empires Mobile until midway through that announcement, if not until I saw AoN’s video about it. I remember excitedly going to pre-register on both my iPad and Android phone as soon as I heard that was a possibility, because I assumed Microsoft wouldn’t possibly put their brand on something that didn’t manage to capture that magic.
The latest AoE2 and AoE4 expansions have been great. They’ve helped fund some excellent tournaments. Age of Mythology: Retold still looks like it’ll be great. From everything I’ve seen, nothing external is awry apart from Mobile. And with Mobile, it’s everything that’s wrong.
Age of Noob is one of the main Age of empires content creators, he has done A LOT of good to this community, he has brought tons of players into the game, and he is a vital part in the Age of empire ecosystem. Please World’s Edge, and Forgotten Empires, you need to bring back Age of Noob into that partnership. kicking him out due to small but valid critisism is unacepptable and makes you look bad. What do you feel when people raise their voices In Moscow and they get censored by Putin? what do you think when people give an opinion in Beijing, and get censored by the CCP? please World’ edge reconsider your actions, it is not too late
The aoe4 one is good
The aoe2 one…review is pretty bad. Some people like the contents regardless of the price. Sales may be okay, but the efforts put into it is far below its price. That direction does not feel right to me.
And communication has been bad for a while. Like I said when some companies really messed up they still had okay communication. That is not a good sign either.
The February stream is where my worries peaked. Little information for AOE4 and the upcoming AOE3 DLC (5 seconds. Imagine that). AOM should he the highlight but they just showed a few unit models with no gameplay. AOE2 has contents because it always has (but this time a really low effort one)In fact it feels more like an “AOE mobile showcase, but put together whatever we have for the other games to make it look like a big event”.
I fear the managenemt is in general going more towards the “quick money low effort” direction like most mobile games are (AOE mobile would be no exception because it has already been released in China years ago and we know what it is like). Hope I’m wrong.
It is 100% understandable the way you feel Age of noob, and I understand that this has left a bad taste in your mouth and you might stay away from the Franchise for a while, thisn is reasonable and advicable my friend. But also remember that you are not in this just because of World’s Edge, FE, Relic etc. you do this because it is one of your passions, you love the franchise and you are one of us, part of the communty, and you know that the community we really appreciate you are you are one of our favourite content creators, and the same way we stood by you on that Youtube ban issue, once again we stand by you age of noob! my advice please take a break, but come back, because you know that this community is mostly good, and this is one of your passions, do not stop all this because of this issue. take care AgeOfNoob, and remember, we are with you!!
I am considering contacting internet investigative journalist Karl Jobst about the censorship situation with Age of Empires Mobile, not just to get more mainstream exposure for Age of Noob’s situation, but also to have an outsider provide objective information with no bias, because I don’t think he has a history with the series.
The guy you mentioned 1) is not a journalist (seriously, he said “I’m not an investigative journalist” himself), 2) has long been accused of being a shitty person.
For a moment I thought you were going to mention some actual investigative journalist like Jason Schreier (who had reported on Ensemble in the past)
Maybe not, but he’s the closest thing we’ve had in a long time.
Let me stop you right there. First, I don’t accept accusations without proof. Anyone can claim anything against someone else and get them canceled. Second, Billy Mitchell sues just about anyone who dares to contradict him. His lawsuit has absolutely no legs to stand on, as everything Jobst said about him is true.
