Hello everyone, I’m a huuuuge fan of AOE 3. I really love this game so much, and thanks to the devs for bringing this game back to life. I want to share my personal list of many civilizations that I would like to see in the game in the future. Enjoy 
Europe:
Africa:
Asia:
Oceania:
South America:
Mamluk Egypt?
What did Muhammed Ali Pasha ever do to you?
I kinda feel Europe is done (though there’s always a sick part of me who’d like to see the Swiss, considering how they were impressive at the beginning of AoE3 timeline).
Austrians should just be another divergent rev civ like Prussia then that can be put to rest. Romania were not big players so I’m not sure why they need to be a civ. Rev is fine and they could also have the Hapsburg Romanian territories covered with Austrians.
Roll on more Asian, Native, African, and even MENA and Polynesian civs - if of course this DLC isn’t a last hurrah…
I think Europe is done.
I can see an African dlc with oman and Morroco. Oman was very involved in Africa and we still need South African maps. (I know oman is not in Africa but Arabia is defined as African map)
Also Asia has some empty spaces for maps (Iran, china, Philippines and Thailand)
Persia was a mayor power and is the most important civ that is not in the game.
Siam (thais) are like Ethiopia, a country that has never been colonized and would bring a very unique taste.
Korea would also be nice, alone for the ship style.
What i would love would be Australia and Oceania maps with new animals, natives and treasure guardians. A South pole map with penguins and without trees, where you need to harvest wood from shipwrecks would also be cool.
Hopefully all of this comes.
Hawaiian & Maori would probably be the most interesting (then give me a New Zealand/Australian ‘Dominion’ rev option so I can re-enact the Musket Wars)
The most I could ever see with Europe going forward are a couple of houses and new mercenaries (I would like to see a Sekban and if you want Swiss, a modernized Swiss Musketeer/Grenadier mercenary is the closest thing to Switzerland I would go. I would like to see MENA Civilizations like Persia, Morocco and Oman. And Morocco should totally be different from Subsaharan Africa.
I was thinking mainly of Mamluk Egypt during Bonaparte’s Egyptian campaign. At that time, although Egypt was officially under Ottoman rule, it was in fact the Mamluks who held power
Oh absolutely. Swiss is just a bit tongue-in-cheek from me.
TBH I think we’re saturated with Mercs now.
Swiss would make a fine Native civ though - could just be a Swiss Merc tent camp and could be on many Euro maps
Austria is the last major European civilisation missing from the game. It richly deserves to be a civilisation in its own right, if only because it took part in the wars against Napoleon and was a major player in Europe.
making Oman an african civ cuz the Sultan moved to Zanzibar is like a 5D chess move.
0/10 no Burmese.
Where Burmese civ???
As an Asian with a solid understanding of 16th–19th century Asian history, my personal asian civs ranking would be:
1. Persia – One of the dominant powers of Western Asia, Persia spent centuries competing with the Ottoman, Russian, and Mughal Empires, making it one of the most influential states of the era.
2. Burma – Under the Toungoo and Konbaung Dynasties, Burma unified much of mainland Southeast Asia, repeatedly defeated Siam, and fought both Qing China and Britain, making it one of Asia’s strongest regional military powers.
3. Siam – A major Southeast Asian kingdom that rivaled Burma and Vietnam while maintaining its independence through strong military traditions and effective diplomacy.
4. The Durrani Empire (Afghanistan) – The first great Afghan Empire, it controlled Afghanistan, Pakistan, and much of northwestern India, defeating both the Mughals and the Marathas at its height.
5. Vietnam – Under the Later Lê, Tây Sơn, and Nguyễn dynasties, Vietnam expanded southward, unified the country, and remained one of the principal powers in mainland Southeast Asia.
6. The Sikh Empire – Although relatively short-lived, it possessed one of the most modern armies in Asia and was the last major obstacle to British conquest in northern India.
7. Oman – Built a maritime empire stretching from Arabia to East Africa, controlling key Indian Ocean trade routes and becoming one of Asia’s leading naval powers.
8. Joseon Korea –To be honest, I don’t really understand why so many people immediately suggest Joseon Korea whenever this topic comes up. Is it because of the global popularity of modern Korean culture?
Historically, the Joseon Dynasty was a stable and well-governed state, but it was not a major geopolitical or military power in Asia during the 16th–19th centuries. For most of this period, Joseon remained a tributary state within the Ming and later Qing-centered regional order, with its foreign policy heavily constrained by that relationship. Its strategy was overwhelmingly defensive, and it rarely projected power beyond the Korean Peninsula.
During the Wanli Joseon War (1592–1598), Joseon came close to collapse after the Japanese invasions and survived largely because of large-scale military intervention from the Ming Empire. Later, when Japan sought to bring Korea under its control, it first had to force Qing China, through the Treaty of Shimonoseki, to formally recognize Korea as an “independent” state, thereby ending its tributary relationship with China before Japan could establish its own dominance.
Personally, I’d rather see the Koreans represented as a Native Trading Post faction, while saving the full civilization slots for powers such as Persia, Burma, Siam, the Durrani Empire (Afghanistan), and Vietnam.
From a 16th–19th century historical perspective, those states had significantly greater military strength, geopolitical influence, and regional impact than Joseon. If the goal is to represent the most important Asian powers of the Age of Empires III era, they deserve priority as fully playable civilizations.
Vietnam is a good example. Like Joseon, successive Vietnamese dynasties acknowledged the Ming and Qing Emperors within the tributary system. However, Vietnam traditionally followed the principle of “submitting to the north while ruling as an emperor in the south.” While recognizing the Chinese emperor diplomatically, Vietnamese rulers regarded themselves as emperors in their own realm and pursued an expansionist policy toward neighboring states, especially through the long Nam Tiến (March to the South), which gradually absorbed Champa and extended Vietnamese influence into mainland Southeast Asia. In contrast, Joseon’s strategy remained overwhelmingly defensive, and its influence beyond the Korean Peninsula was comparatively limited.
Yeah it 100% is because Korean culture is popular nowadays.
Joseon Korea military record was sketchy at best, although all the funky siege weapons they invented do make the civ more enticing to design.
Actually, Age of Empires IV handled this issue more accurately. Instead of presenting the Hwacha as some kind of uniquely Korean advanced technology, it represents it as what it really was: a typical weapon from the medieval Chinese gunpowder tradition. Weapons of this type — black powder rocket launchers and similar devices — had a long history in ancient China. From small weapons like the “Yīwōfēng” (a multi-tube rocket launcher) to various types of rocket carts and large-scale launching devices, there were many different forms.
Therefore, the Hwacha was not some miraculous Korean invention that appeared out of nowhere. It was part of the broader East Asian development of gunpowder weapons. Korea did use and develop this type of weapon, but it was not a revolutionary breakthrough that placed Korea ahead of its neighbors.
The problem is that modern games and popular culture often greatly exaggerate the actual effectiveness of these weapons. They look extremely impressive: hundreds of rockets being launched at once, creating a spectacular battlefield scene. However, their real battlefield performance was much more limited. Their accuracy was poor, their control was difficult, and their actual killing power was inconsistent. They relied more on quantity, psychological impact, and causing disorder among enemy formations rather than the kind of precise destructive power that artillery could provide.
The early Ming dynasty, especially during the Yongle period, also made extensive use of various rocket weapons and gunpowder devices. However, after the 15th century, especially when China came into contact with more advanced European artillery technology, the direction of military development gradually changed. Weapons such as the Frankish cannon (Folangji) and the Hongyipao (Red Barbarian cannon) offered much greater range, accuracy, and destructive power. As a result, traditional rocket weapons gradually became less important compared with artillery.
The reason many of these Chinese gunpowder weapons are not famous today is not because China lacked such technologies. In fact, China had a very large variety of them. The reason is that they were eventually replaced by more effective weapons and were no longer considered especially remarkable.
However, when certain historical weapons are rediscovered by modern games and popular culture, they can become symbols of an entire civilization. The Hwacha is a good example. It works very well as a game unit because it is visually distinctive and memorable, but historically it was one part of a much broader East Asian gunpowder tradition, not evidence that Korea possessed uniquely advanced military technology.
I agree about Korea - other than their ‘moment of glory’ with the Imjin War in the 16th century, the rest for the most part is not that noteworthy.
Quirky weapons, to be honest, are the biggest draw for me - spiky trident-using warrios, handheld arrow cannons, Hwacha (though maybe rather the Korean-origin one - the Mangam Hwacha), Geobukseon, twin-sword wielding cav, Righteous army militia, etc.
I never said Hwacha I think you’re just traumatized by Korea’s popularity.
Persia and Korea seem to be the most viable options; given that these are two of the most important nations in the East, I highly doubt the developers would choose to release civilizations that are obscure on the global stage. They will most likely take the safe route by selecting well-known civilizations, avoiding a repeat of the disastrous launch of The African Royals. Of course, I could be wrong, and they might release an unusual civilization—like some people here have suggested—but that would be a gamble on the developers’ part. It is far more probable that they will play it safe by releasing a highly recognizable civilization, similar to those already found in AoE II. Another viable option would be a DLC featuring a South American civilization—or perhaps several; the War of the Triple Alliance, for instance, could be an excellent candidate for a new DLC. Let’s not forget that Latin America still has a limited presence in AoE III; the Latin American revolutions remain very lacking in terms of content, and Mexico is the only official civilization we have from the region so far.
Calling Vietnam an “obscure civilization on the global stage” sure is one of the statements of all time.
Doubling down on it by saying “you know what would REALLY sell? Paraguay” is the cherry on top.
Let’s see… Paraguay is popular in Germany now because they eliminated them from the World Cup, haha…
