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This thread on the forum is not representative of any majority.
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Find me a single thread on other social media platforms where there is a massive complaint because it is sold under the name Vikings instead of something else. Even on Reddit, I haven’t seen a single thread on the subject. Only on this forum. I would like you to give me a stronger argument than that to say that I am in the minority.
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Age of Empires was never a historical game, but a game based on history (where creative liberties have always been taken), which is different.
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This cuts both ways.
Whose preference gets to win?
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Even less of a reason to protest the discussion then!
I’ve enjoyed the discussion and development of perspective as people introduce ideas for how the civ could be represented without using only Vikings as an identity. The part where people get upset that people want different things than them, bringing up sales or politics, I could do without, personally.
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Well, there is a big difference between Byzantines and Vikings, and even more so for the game:
The Byzantine Empire was practically an “archaeological” name for the Eastern Roman Empire, already in use since 1557. And I say archaeological because it practically no longer exists; it has no successor states, it was erased from the map, its territories taken by the Ottoman Turks or other unconnected states.
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The thing is, this Roman Empire, the Byzantines, if it existed as an empire, had a culture and emperors, an economic system, an army, and at least for Age of Empires IV, that’s what’s important.
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On the other hand, if a broken empire was called Byzantium, it also had its political considerations: Many other states also wanted to call themselves “Successors of Rome,” including the Tsardom of Rus, the Holy Roman Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, even the Ottoman Empire, etc. And therefore, they couldn’t call the true Romans “Romans,” so this term became popular after its fall. In any case, there are no descendants of the Byzantine Empire who object to that name.
The Vikings, on the other hand, it’s not that the term doesn’t exist, but rather: They weren’t a country, they weren’t a kingdom, nor was it even a demonym; it was simply a term used to describe various invaders of cities in northern Europe as pirates.
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And at least for the moment, for Age of Empires 4, all the main civilizations have been named after states or kingdoms that will evolve over time. Names of organizations or dynasties are generally reserved for variants.
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Kingdoms that had a Viking past include the Norwegians, Danes, and Swedes, who still exist and consider it part of their history.
Now, that was just to clarify terminology.
Regarding the new Viking civilization, I think the developers only announced it will be Viking-themed to generate hype. But in practice, I suppose they won’t give the official name until next year, 2026.
And well, the reality is that we have nearly NOTHING to really predict ANYTHING, only that the new civilization will have units from the Viking period, perhaps from Denmark (the Danish), that’s most likely, because the Macedonian Dynasty already exists to cover the Swedish Viking period.
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Vikings is the most recognisable term, very inaccurate though
Vikings is granted to have better engagement with the audience while Norse or Scandinavians are pretty rough, saying the less
One curious thing is there is already Danes on the game, in the base campaign, scenario North to York
And here is its technical card
In my personal preference I would rather have a more accurate name but you know this is a product that needs to be sold.
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Fun fact: the leader of the Danes faction is a rival of Harald Hardrada, king of Norway.
While there is a common misconception that the Vikings were aligned through a common interest, there was actually an internal struggle between those nations for control of territory siezed in that era.
Nuances like these are lost by using only Viking as a descriptor.
Would love to see them do scenarios or campaigns based off Scandinavian history, but Harald is one of the more influential of the viking age since he:
- Lost and regained the throne of Norway
- Contested the Danish for their throne
- Took huge swaths of territory in Northumbria and NW Europe
- Commander of the Varangian guard in Constantinople
- Served as military commander for the Kievan Rus
And that’s just one of several Norse historical figures that shaped the region.
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All this deliberation only shows that Vikings is a good enough name. Just call them Vikings, design them as fierce Viking warriors, sell them as the popular Vikings, release 10 variants for every northern state for all the names suggested in this thread, so that everyone is happy, profit. And ignore 21st century’s humanity that reached a point where they are fighting over names. If the Vikings were still alive and reading this thread they’d probably say “Just effin’ call us Vikings mate, init? Cheers. Let’s go grab a pint.”
But they . . . didn’t call themselves Vikings.
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Japanese don’t call themselves Japanese either, and that didn’t stop us.
And?
Still doesn’t change the fact that any Viking wouldn’t have said what you think they’d have said.
You like the name Vikings. Others do as well. Others do not. Some others don’t really care.
That’s about the sum of it all, really.
It was a. . .joke. You didn’t notice how the Vikings were sounding like you do? Bloody hell, mate.
I’m no great shakes at jokes (“you don’t say”), but putting them at the end of your serious and consistent position of “don’t change their name” I feel makes them harder to spot.
I can’t remember which in the two of the threads I said this in, but people who want the change are gonna want it, and the people who aren’t, aren’t. Telling one to accept the other is kinda useless, jokes or not. I apologise to anyone this might offend, but it’s true!
Great, then I guess we can finally close this useless thread. And at a personal level, maybe also not intervene in every thread where we don’t agree with what was said. The problem with this is people always have certain things they care about. And you probably know better than anyone that it’s not about telling someone to accept the other’s view. 
I don’t accept being censored, and neither do you. Peace 
I don’t. I was only talking about the consequence of “Telling one to accept the other is kinda useless, jokes or not.”.
It’d be more comparable if the Japanese civ was called “Samurais” instead :v
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There is many Vikings. Jomsvikings, Frisians, Balts, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Normans, Sicilians.
I’m against Age of Empires 2 claiming to be the sole owner of the Vikings name!!!
Precisely because Age of Empires 2 is the most played and beloved of all time, and only it can use the Vikings name??
The other games in the Age of Empires series should be ignored, put in a corner, turned to the wall, and left in oblivion, and never remembered again by the Vikings name! Hahaha
The Vikings name is too powerful! It should not be ignored. NEVER!
Create a civilization focused on raids and invasions!!! Give the people what they want to see, the Vikings!
What’s so difficult about doing what the people want to see?
In the future, you’ll be able to create an incredible campaign!!!
Then make DLCs with variants, such as: Denmark, Norway, Sweden. Done! Everyone happy! End of discussion!
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How would naming them differently prevent the gameplay loop of raids and invasions?
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So, I’ll return the question to you with a reflection:
- Why are they called Vikings in most history books?
- Even in books that detail their weapons and equipment, are they also called Vikings?
- Why don’t they use another name?
- Is the “true” name being prevented from being spoken?
- Why do they ignore the names you would call “true”?
- Why call a weapon with the name “Viking” included?
It seems that Vikings isn’t as wrong a name as some people think.
If it were to change the name: I would prefer to see Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, or as a last resort, “Scandinavians.”
The worst name chosen would be Norsemen, which easily loses to the popularity of the name Vikings.
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