The update list had this on the bottom,
Who are these guests going to be 
Speculate! 
Definitely smells of AoM to me…
(unexpected friends on that weird road map last year too right?)
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New bugs! They’re the “unexpected guests” that I’ve always come to expect.
Apart from that, no idea. The fact that it’s tied to an “event” makes me doubt that it’s anything very significant, but IDK. If I were to project a desire onto this in a way that may be plausible, it would be a few bits of new Editor content (e.g. the Xolotl-at-Arms and Dark Knight mods that some of us asked for as Editor units). Maybe a skin for the “Mounted Samurai” Editor unit that looks like a hussar.
Curious why you suppose AoM would have anything to do with it, or why it would be announced as part of an AoE2 patch. I don’t think they’ll add any AoM content to AoE2, even as a silly event mod. But who knows. Anything has become possible since they decided to make AoE:DE:DE as an AoE2 DLC and add another Roman civ. Maybe the “unexpected guests” are the Dwarves from The Hobbit, and it’s a sign that that they’re going to make a “Battle For Middle Earth 2” DLC for AoE2. 
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Maybe its a cheat unit based on AOE1? Or another mod like the scout from years ago or the new units’ sound from AOE1
Nope, ancient friends, which are expected now after the RoR announcement.
Since it’s an event thing it’s probably some event skins.
Wouldn’t be that unexpected right before an ancient themed DLC, would it?
I’m expecting a Spanish-themed event.
Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition event!
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New civs, new campaigns, new units?
I like it
I would love to have Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds as guest, and you know, also as a future big DLC in the same way of RoR, with Expanding Fronts content… but… that’s is too much hopium. But regardless of that it comes before RoR and it’s the 4th May…
So anyway let’s add a little bit of reminder that SWGB exist to insist on the idea of a remake, although IRC Forgotten Empires devs had stated that they tried to contact Lucas Arts / Disney and they said no.
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Imagine ChatGPT and Bing showing up as multiplayer Game Commentators or taking over AI chat when playing Singleplayer skirmishes or Campaigns to spice things up. Now that would be unexpected in my book. It would fit the AI centric timeline we are heading to, though, I would def approve 
lol
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That’d be amazing. Imagine MS and Disney eventually agreeing on Galactic Battlegrounds DE and adding Stormtroopers, Jedi, Wookie and whatnot in the next event.
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I mean, the AoE II now has a engine that can support different datasets, so the foundations to do more games based on Genie engine is done.
We could eventually have an Age of Empires based on the timeframe of III, World War I, etc.
Anyways, high hopium for SWGB
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Some of you really dream big.
This is very likely just some event like any other event just themed after some “guests”. It’s also coming right before RoR and shortly after the new balance patch that just dropped so it’s definitely not a lot of new content.
But why do that in an inferior old engine?
Even if the people hate AoE3 for a lot of random reasons it’s usually not for having a different engine.
Even if you want a 2D game you wouldn’t want to make a new game in the AoE2 engine. Rather just use Unity or something.
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Sea people ? maybe they will add them as playable factions in the next DLC of Rome
Well, more like dreaming big is a reminder to the devs on the forums that some people still want SWBG DE. I like to be realistic, and I know that is not very probable, but we asked for remakes for AoE years ago and… we finally had them
That game is probably a license nightmare.
Who can they be added before RoR is released?
AOE1 nuke car cheat (idk why it is censored)? Photon Man? A civ? Maybe anagramming Reges Romam redeunt (The kings return to Rome) we will get some hint (99.99% not).
They are rather “unwanted guests” 
.
I wouldn’t expect something as a new civ, unit, etc. I mean, it may happen but I don’t think it’s what this phrase refers to. “Guests” implies they won’t stay forever, imo, so it’s probably just an event thing.
Yes, sadly it is. From Expanding Fronts FAQ
This is a highly unrealistic expectation.
First of all, STAR WARS Galactic Battlegrounds exists because LucasArts (since closed down) licensed the genie engine (of Age of Empires 2) from Ensemble Studios (also shut down) shortly before Ensemble was purchased by Microsoft. It’s a common misconception that SWGB was made by Ensemble/Microsoft, but this is not true. Microsoft had nothing to do with SWGB. As part of the license deal, Ensemble sent one guy to teach the LucasArts developers how to use their engine.
For a SWGB Definitive Edition to happen, Microsoft, who now owns the rights to the genie engine, would have to make a deal with LucasFilm Games (now owned by Disney) to remake the game with the AoE2 Definitive Edition genie engine and re-implement all the GB specific features like power cores, shields, aircraft, etc. Or even less likely, LucasFilm Games may (or may not) have the rights to do their own Definitive Edition, but they would have to build on top of the current SWGB:CC and do all the improvements themselves and undoubtedly without any help this time in understanding the engine. SWGB wasn’t exactly the most popular of Star Wars games and the RTS genre isn’t exactly the most popular of genres, so the likelihood of LucasFilm Games choosing to give it the remake treatment over other games is very low.
But let people dream
What about some adaptation of Rome ad Bellum mod?
I hope that happens at some point in the future but I don’t think that announcement has anything to do with it.
Not sure why you all got those crazy ideas?
How would they suddenly make some amazing new content right between the biggest balance patch and a new DLC.
Seems like that’s a little much at once.
90% chance it’s just some event skins.