Given the shocking news about Xbox moving World’s Edge under Activision’s management and laying off around 50% of the staff, I’m really worried about the future of AoE2.
Specifically, I’m wondering what will happen to the three unreleased DLC slots currently sitting in the Steam database. If you look at SteamDB, the first app ID appeared in September 2025, the second one in January 2026, and the third one was added just recently in July 2026.
Do you think Activision will scrap these pending projects to cut costs during the restructuring, or are they deep enough in development that we will still see them released? What is the community’s take on this?
Very very highly doubt it. The stated purpose of the restructuring (across Xbox) is to cut down the levels of middle management and slim down the org chart, not to cut costs in production. If they were going to cut DLCs and end support, they would have let FE Devs go, and removed WE entirely having FE report direct to Activision. They want more money going to devs and not to middle management that they feel don’t add value, and DLC is how they continue getting money from the game. They will continue making DLC for sure. I’d be beyond shocked if i’m wrong on that.
Tbh this game is already on dead state anyways. Ranked hasnt been changed since forever and game has had multiple broken shit since launch, but you guy are worried about Activision? Get real
Yes, at most the roadmaps they release are for the DLCs that have already been announced (like the one they did at the beginning of the year and in July)…
If they would cancel all DLC then what would the remaining 50% of the staff be working on?
More likely that AoE4, AoE3DE and AoMR content gets cancelled in favour of AoE2DE where it’s cheaper to make new DLC and there expected sales are higher.
But in the end we have no idea. This is not polymarket we are not here to bet on them releasing future DLC.
Yes, and the 50 percent that needed to go included a lot of bosses. If there was a new game in development (the post only said project, which can mean anything from a tournament to a dlc) that would have needed the most project management etc. So it’s logical that if this is gone, most let go personal would be connected to this.
For the other 3 games (3 4 and M)
Aoe4 is actually the most expensive to make DLCs for. There was a video on YouTube comparing aoe2 Civs to aoe4 and in 4 there are like over 20 times the voice line for a single civ. Each age has unique voice lines and also the villager models change with each age. It’s a lot of love to the details but a nightmare to make additions after that. It’s logical to assume that 4 would then get axed too.
For 3 and M I an not sure. 3 has no campaigns and more players that M. It also has a lot of options for (explorer) skins and other DLCs (map packs for example). It’s possible that 3 gets a few more DLCs due to this. For M it depends on the sales in the past, but it also has some options for different God portraits and so on.
Aoe2 is relatively secure. A civ is low effort compared to all other age games. If 2 gets nothing anymore, nothing would. And then you would not need 50 percent of words edge anymore.
The thing is though that Worlds Edge is not making AoE2/AoE3/AoM/AoE4 DLC, it’s Forgotten Empires and other Studios. Those are not owned my Microsoft so they can’t fire anyone there. They have some contracts with them that likely secure certain already planned DLC where Microsoft would have to pay a lot of money if they were cancelled. But of course Microsoft can stop making more DLC in the future and decide to just not hire those 3rd party developers.
Then Forgotten Empires would not be able to keep working on AoE because they do not own the rights. They would likely not be able to afford buying them from Microsoft. So either they have to do their own game or go bankrupt.
Microsoft is struggling to get the money to keep their AI investments going, so they are cutting of as much other costs as they can. Of course that is extremely stupid but that’s what investors want.
That is correct and they could even decide to use different developers as they don’t have an obligation to use FE, but that would be a far fetched idea for now.
Look dude I’m trying to find common ground with you but can you please stop taking glee in someone getting fired as though he torched an orphanage full of puppies twice a week?!
One of the main stated purposes Microsoft/Xbox has for the downsizing is to cut levels of middle management to be able to invest more resources into actual game development. I think the purpose of moving Worlds Edge under Activision and cut the roles they cut was that cutting middle management that they felt was needless. Was that assessment accurate in this case? That’s up for debate, but I think that was the point.
but this too, they wouldn’t have kept WE around at all if they were going to cut development of the game entirely. I think AoE 2 is safe, I think AoE 3 and sadly AOM are in danger, we’ll see what they do with AoE 4 (but tbh I kinda don’t care about that one lol)
Get real