Since 2021, it’s been four years. Together we’ve gone through joy and anticipation, watching Age of Empires IV step forward bit by bit with hopes for the future. I won’t make the claim that AoE4 will stop updating next year or the year after, nor that its operations will be officially concluded. The truth is, in these past four years, we have had no real visibility into the studio’s internal work environment. We simply cannot know under what conditions they’ve been developing. But personally, I tend to believe that Microsoft itself does not value the Age of Empires IP very much, and that its massive, cumbersome corporate structure has dragged down not only Age of Empires but its entire gaming division [more or less].
When it comes to AoE4, the thing that has left the deepest impression on me over these four years is not whether they fix problems or support the modding community, but rather their endless obsession with so-called game balance. One day they make changes, the next day they overturn them, then change them again, then revert once more. I honestly wonder if anyone there truly plays AoE4 seriously, or if they genuinely understand the core design of this game. To me it feels like they’re constantly contradicting themselves. In the process, they may have even overturned the fundamental roles and identities of certain military units. I have no idea what they’re trying to do, but I believe an RTS cannot survive this kind of unstable, immature, repetitive tinkering with code and design.
I don’t want to get into another debate about esports versus single-player. I’m tired of that—it feels pointless. To me, it’s simple: since AoE4 contains both single-player and multiplayer, the developers should treat both with equal weight. Otherwise, just delete single-player and release a competitive-only online version, or scrap multiplayer entirely and commit to a pure single-player focus. And honestly, compared to what the studio itself has shown, I respect the mod creators more. They’ve constantly thrown themselves into creating and maintaining their own mods—sometimes even fixing and patching what they feel are the studio’s failures. At least they seem to understand what players actually want to play. By contrast, AoE4’s official development direction feels unstable and immature. It seems to be leaning toward competitive multiplayer, but at the same time it half-heartedly drags along single-player without truly supporting or abandoning it. The result is something stuck in-between, unsatisfying in either direction. The whole state of development feels vague, like the studio itself doesn’t know what it wants.
Even now, leaving aside issues of content, game modes, or player freedom of choice, the game still suffers from fundamental AI and pathfinding issues that stem from its engine and code. These problems have never been solved. The AI in AoE4 is weaker than the AI from 2008’s Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath or Red Alert 3. In AoE4, any terrain with a bit of complexity or uneven height is enough to break AI pathfinding. Perhaps because AoE4 has been designed increasingly with a PvP focus, AI issues are dismissed as unimportant, since PvP matches don’t rely on AI anyway. Or maybe the studio simply thinks these problems don’t matter, or that the underlying code is too difficult to fix—I can’t say.
I don’t believe next year will bring us some exciting new AoE4 roadmap. Most likely it will be the same as past years: painfully slow, strangely silent to the point of being invisible, then suddenly announcing that a major DLC will release in Q2, Q3, or Q4. Looking at the store page and the past DLCs—both in pricing and content—I feel even if new expansions continue to appear, the game’s lifespan has already run its course. It will never surpass AoE2. Maybe AoE4 was fundamentally constrained by its design direction from the very beginning, resulting in a narrow and extreme focus. I personally dislike its campaigns: they’re too prescriptive, too much like tutorials. Yes, they let players experience historical events, but in the end, players want entertainment and freedom, not just to sit through cutscenes. Honestly, I don’t understand what the studio was aiming for.
As for DLC: at this pace and price, how many more “variant” DLCs will they sell? How many are needed to fill the gaps in major civilizations? Do players want genuinely new and unique factions, or just more modified shadows of existing ones? Why do players even come to AoE4? Why do they keep comparing it to AoE2? What does AoE2 lack compared to AoE4, and what does AoE4 lack compared to AoE2? These are questions for the forums to discuss at length—I won’t write more here, as it would take too much space.
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Lastly, even though King Art’s Iron Harvest was poor in quality—lacking gameplay, detail, and polish—and even though I was a backer in 2017, I can’t say I’m optimistic about them taking on Dawn of War IV. But at the very least, their stated vision and direction sound solid:
[You can take a look yourself]:
“If including all units and structures, there will be more than 110 types.
More than 30 maps in total.
Focus is not on e-sports, but on making the game fun, enhancing faction experiences, and increasing RTS completeness.
Note: Not targeting e-sports does not mean ignoring multiplayer; it just means the company won’t heavily push it as an e-sports title.
Base building returns, with the option to place buildings by pressing B instead of requiring worker units (similar to Tempest Rising).
Worker-based construction still exists, varying by faction.
All units can reinforce squads on the battlefield (like DoW1).
Vehicles and tanks can self-repair if stationary for a time.
All units have a retreat function, pulling back to the nearest control point.
Grenades now use target-location throwing.
Cover and bunkers exist, but simplified into “in cover” or “not in cover,” similar to DoW1, though squads enter cover areas like DoW2.
The farther from control zones, the longer unit/structure build times become.
Combat Director (synchronous battle system).
Sync-kills return, though melee combat now runs with detailed animations, with over 10,000 animations prepared.
System dynamically combines animations depending on unit size, positions, and context.
Multiplayer supports up to 3v3.
Last Stand mode available at launch.
Will be the most content-rich DoW at release.
Beta test confirmed, format undecided.
Astra Militarum already largely implemented, including Guardsmen, a Commander, Rogal Dorn Tank, Scout Sentinel, etc.”
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Compared to AoE4’s vague updates and unstable development direction, DoW4’s clarity is reassuring. At least I know what that studio wants to do, whereas AoE4 has never given me that confidence. Some say AoE4 players have unrealistic expectations, are selfish or entitled. But if AoE4 wasn’t built to satisfy both new and old fans—by simplifying and rebuilding along lines inspired by AoE2—then what was it made for? What is its purpose? Does it even remember? If a game can’t live up to its own development goals and ambitions, how can it ever live up to players’ expectations? If it fails at even that, then it’s already at the end of its road.
I think AoE4 has nearly reached that point. Its foundational framework is too limiting to fix—spilled water that cannot be gathered back. Even aside from technical issues, in terms of faction creativity and overall vision, it’s hard to see how it can attract new players anymore. As I’ve said, I don’t believe many people would go to Microsoft’s official AoE forums just to debate the game’s quality. They’d rather use the Steam forums, or simply remain silent, or go elsewhere. And even the Steam forums, with their eerie silence, are discouraging. Who would want to post in such a lifeless place? How can new players be drawn to a community that feels dead? And how can people expect others to stay interested when the game itself is directionless, pulled one way then another, wandering aimlessly? If AoE4 really does end, I believe its ending will be an unhappy one. But I’ll accept it calmly. If it continues, I’ll see it as a miracle.
I have plenty of other games to play. My love for RTS is simple: I’m not an “old veteran,” I love RTS because I love the aesthetics of heavy armor, shields, weapons, soldiers in formation. Even in modern settings, I’m drawn to sci-fi exo-soldiers and modern battle armor. RTS lets me see these armies clash on a grand scale, lets me command heavily armored units charging and besieging cities. So even if AoE4 disappears, I can still find something else to enjoy. I don’t want to waste more time waiting endlessly for nothing. Sometimes all I want is a clear, decisive attitude—but even that seems too much to ask. They can talk endlessly about their visions and responsibilities, but in the end, they fail to deliver.