Age of Empires Multiplayer Servers Down Thursday for Routine Maintenance

The Age of Empires platform team has scheduled server maintenance for Thursday, August 13, beginning at 2:00 pm PT / 5:00 pm ET / 21:00 UTC. Expected downtime is between one and two hours.

What to expect

• Ranked matchmaking will be disabled one hour before the window opens — a precaution to avoid disrupting newly-formed matches.
• Matches in progress at the moment maintenance begins will be disrupted.
• Launching the game remains possible during the window, but matchmaking and all online features will be unavailable.
• The team recommends finishing any active session at least 10 minutes before the start time.

Games and platforms affected

• Age of Empires: Definitive Edition — Steam, Microsoft Store
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition — Steam, Microsoft Store, Xbox, PlayStation 5
• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition — Steam, Microsoft Store
• Age of Empires IV — Steam, Microsoft Store, Xbox, PlayStation 5

The announcement describes the work as "routine server updates and maintenance" with no further detail on what is being changed. Updates to the schedule, and the all-clear, will be posted in the original thread.

For anyone with ranked sessions planned Thursday afternoon, the safest path is to wrap up well before the 2:00 pm PT cutoff.