There was a poll conducted on reddit that was taken down by its poster that tried to answer this question. Before deleting the post Viking was at about 25% of the vote, with Norse being most popular. I’m sure that wasn’t what that OP thought was the case, and didn’t want that evidence used against their argument.
So this too is not true.
If what you’re saying were true, I’d even give you a “heart.” 
But unfortunately, I can prove otherwise.
You mention a poll on Reddit.
Well, I’ve never heard of that poll.
I didn’t participate, and I imagine the vast majority of people in the world certainly didn’t either.
And to make matters worse, Reddit polls don’t always reflect reality. And why? Because the participants are often from a “niche” group, and the number of participants in the voting is sometimes quite low. I bet it didn’t reach 10,000 people; it must have been a small number, like other polls I’ve seen.
Another thing,
The developers themselves called them “Vikings,” but why?
If the term Norsemen is extremely “beloved” by the masses, why use the term “Vikings” for the new civilization? Are the developers drunk? Or perhaps because the preferred term of the masses is actually Vikings?
Why do magazines, newspapers, books, movies, and TV series still insist on using the term Vikings? It’s such an insignificant, tacky, and uninteresting term???
Or is “Norsemen” perhaps a less appealing term?
To conclude and prove my point, since I and many others around the world don’t use Reddit to vote and change our lives… I will resort to AI as a research tool.
The AI uses the internet database to search, and it should give a correct answer, without any personal bias.
Here’s the bombshell, Rsrsrsrs:
I asked the AI :
and it answered like this:
Our! I must have bribed this AI, it’s not possible!!! hahahaha
For what it’s worth, this is pretty much fully describes both positions. Depending on who you ask one is more important than the other. Both are valid!
You’re quite quick to change the subject of the discussion.
The issue here isn’t whether the term is correct or not, but rather which term is more popular!
If Norsemen is really so important to the Age of Empires community, why don’t they start a petition to change the name in Age of Empires 2?
Or is it because the vast majority likes the name Vikings?
You are posting in the thread that is making a point to ask for it not to be called vikings. What are you talking about? Popularity isn’t the point here, and if it was… why?
Let me frame this in a more diplomatic way, you feel one way while others feel differently. Telling people you disagree with them because ‘what they want shouldn’t happen because they aren’t within the popular opinion’ is going to lead to the people you’re speaking to feeling alienated.
I felt the need to bring up that what you’re describing has yet to be observed. More importantly, it’s just going to lead to one of either side feeling disgruntled.
I was trying to bring it back to a neutral position by saying we both have merit. I wasn’t changing the subject, I was attempting to de-escalate.
Polls and popularity are important only when they suit us it seems.
The blame lies with whoever created the topic!
Let them complain to society, to books, to the world!
I have nothing to do with this. Hahaha
If that’s the case, why don’t they complain about Age of Empires 2?
I only stated the OBVIOUS that anyone can see.
I can’t do anything if what I said and showed bothers people. But I didn’t invent anything. It’s there for anyone who wants to see.
Relax, I’m not arguing with you. I’m just showing the other side of the coin.
I’ll try to help end this endless discussion!
Using AI to provide an answer… will we find an end?
Question for AI:
Answer:
More broadly, to encompass as many future “variants” as possible that could be released in DLCs, the name “Norse” would be a more historically accurate choice if the goal is to broaden this perspective.
Now, if the focus is entirely on raids, exploration, and pillaging, the name Vikings would be more appropriate. In terms of popularity, the most common name is Vikings, as mentioned earlier. But that doesn’t mean it’s the most accurate name, since it refers to a specific period and an activity of exploration and looting, but even so, it could encompass “variants” that portray other periods of history, since we are still talking about the same people. And only the Norse and Scandinavians are called Vikings, and no other civilization uses that name.
Well, the answer will depend on how the developers are creating this new civilization!
WE KNOW NOTHING!
To date, the developers have not revealed any details, or about the time period in which this new civilization will take place.
With this fact, this DISCUSSION IS COMPLETELY USELESS.
We cannot discuss something when nobody knows what will actually be portrayed in the game.
So whose opinion matters? I guess any thread doesn’t. Including the one telling the devs to call them Vikings. That’s . . . awkward.
Multiple reasons.
First, it’s a nearly 30 year old game, and the Vikings have been in it since the beginning.
Second, it’s a game where the civs are not named after specific polities like they are in aoe4, but after broad cultural groups. As I said in the original post, this makes Vikings bad in aoe2, but doubly bad in aoe4, since it is using an incorrect name for a cultural group as a stand-in for the polity, instead of just an incorrect name for a cultural group.
Third, it’s a game I play much less than aoe4. I care less about it than I do this game.
And finally, because this is a new civ being added in 2026. The best time to suggest doing the right thing is before the wrong thing has been done. Going back and correcting a previous error can be done (see aoe3’s Native American civ renames in DE), but it’s much less common than fixing the error before it occurs. We’ve already seen aoe4 do this with the initial batch of variant civs. The nonsense “Sultan’s Army” became the Ayyubids.
Exactly, if they fail to sell, its down to shitty marketing and explanations.
You’re terrible at reading… hahaha
Because the fact that I proved! That in the world (Research using AI database, without any manipulation or of the niche group):
That bothers you, it’s not my problem.
Thinking that Reddit is the only tool for qualitative research is kind of complicated. Remember that the vast majority of players don’t vote. Usually, a small number of people vote, maybe if you’re lucky, it reaches 300 people. But currently, an average of 15,000 to 20,000 people play.
I couldn’t vote, nor did I know this research was happening!
My vote would be for Scandinavians or Denmark! And do you have a problem if I choose Scandinavians or Denmark?
Another thing, quite important:
I’ve already stated this:
However, the fact that I say the term Viking is more popular in the WORLD is something that bothers a minority that lives in a bubble.
Now it’s my turn to say ----> Embarrassing!
Yes, you’re absolutely right.
I’m proud of the names of the “variants”:
– Jeanne d’Arc
– Zhu Xi’s Legacy
Wow, we became a joke, Age of Empires 2 loved laughing at us in the forums! And they still laugh!
Everyone knows that these two names should be reworked and even some characteristics improved in the “variant” itself. We have incredible examples and suggestions here on the forum.
To this day we have to carry this “pride” in such incredible names!
Importantly, we still don’t know in detail what this “new civilization, called Vikings,” will be like, nobody knows the historical period that will be portrayed and what it actually represents.
So discussing something that nobody knows is complicated.
Until a promotional video or photos showing more details are released, this would make things easier.
When people complained about the first DLC, we already had more information, photos, and videos; now we have NOTHING!
The book you’re citing appears to describe the weaponry and equipment of Scandinavian warriors who were indeed called Vikings – this is the correct usage of the word, just like you can call a katana both “samurai sword” and “Japanese sword”. What’s trickier is using this word in the context of the whole Scandinavian civilization rather than just the merchant-pirates (who were a significant but not the only part of it, just as the winged hussars aren’t everything where it comes to Poland or samurais aren’t everything where it comes to Japan).
Moreover, there’s a difference between history books and books popularizing history, the one you show belongs to the latter category judging by images being the focus. The former usually are composed almost entirely of text and are written by academia for academia, whereas the latter are meant to spread historical knowledge to the public – hence more images and a more lax approach to terminology, such as using “Vikings” to refer to all Scandinavians rather than just the job.
Consider the civ bios on the official website. They all describe span of time, with the civ being represented by an evolving culture as you age up.
Age of Empires IV has you build up the English civilization across four eras: the Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, English Gothic, and Tudor eras. Each Age has its distinct style from architecture to armor, with populations speaking Old English in the Dark Age and evolving to Early Modern English by the Imperial Age.
Age of Empires IV allows you to experience the Rus civilization through four Ages portraying distinct moments in history: in Age I, traditional Slavic with Norman and Norse influences; in Age II, the Rus’ Golden Age with Byzantine influence; in Age III, the fall of Mongol influence; and in Age IV, the rise of the Muscovy Duchy.
The engineering prowess of the Chinese dominated the world for centuries, a trait present in Age of Empires IV. You live through history as Chinese culture, strength, and innovations created ripples across Eurasia, growing your empire as you move through vibrant Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties. Your units speak Mandarin Chinese, a Sinitic language originating in North China.
I think it’s definitely going to keep a heavy viking theme in dark age and feudal age. Where does that leave us past the 11th century, when vikings no longer existed?
What if it was just the viking age?
It would be a significant tonal shift, no other base civilization is represented in this way. Malian is an outlier, ranging from 11th - 16th century. A true viking civ, based on the viking age, would be limited to 8th - 11th century.
What if the design of the civ lines up with the other 12, and it continues to the rennaissance?
It would still be reasonable to see it as a viking civ (it could easily be plastered all over the bio page and unit mechanics), but use the name that we use for the people across the entire time span (Norse, Scandinavian, etc). It makes no sense to call people vikings after they no longer existed.
In my opinion, the events after the viking age are just as important to viking identity as the events before it. A big part of viking culture was finding a place within the world rather than cutting through it. Once they established wealth and consolidated power they had a more stable society that no longer benefited from piracy.
That might mean an ingame mechanic for choosing between cultures/religions (like the Japanese Shinto/Buddhism landmark). It would also leave room for the Kalmar Union as the imperial age representation, which fielded handcannons and field cannons starting in the late 14th century.
Thanks for putting it in perspective. Now I know that if what we’re getting is the “poor little misunderstood Vikings that just wanted a place of their own”, I’m not gonna be buying it, and I’m 100% gonna warn others and suggest they watch a Disney animation for better value for money.
Yes! I agree.
The terms Scandinavians and Nordics are the most accurate to define where they are from, who they are, and their people.
The term Vikings refers to the activity of raiding, exploring, pillaging, and invading, and even trading activities. Their fame became too great throughout the world. However, this term is used for marketing purposes, precisely because it is something that gave fame and success to Scandinavian and Nordic stories.
Popular usage often treats the term “Viking” as a synonym for “Scandinavians” or “Nordics,” but historically this is inaccurate.
You need to have a strong stomach to compare the first names of the variants with the Vikings.
If doing the “right” or most accurate thing means fewer players, I prefer the “wrong” or less accurate option. Because it has been proven several times that a word has more commercial potential (especially for casual users).
Mind you, if the name is very wrong, then it’s understandable that the name should be changed, but that’s not the case here.
Ok you convinced me pals
Devs, give me Vikings as a new Stand-alone Civ but rework both Byzantines and Macedonian Dynasty, please!
No, it’s logical extrapolation. If reddit is niche, then this forum is statistically-irrelevant. If reddit being niche is used to suggest its group opinion is irrelevant, that goes for this place too.
Obviously, I disagree 