Celebrating its first year of delighting millions of global players, the award-winning and best-selling strategy franchise continues with Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition, putting you at the center of even more epic historical battles that shaped the world.
Catch up on Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition with the developer’s own announcements. Start with the newest recorded post, then explore the details before you return.
3recent developer posts shown belowSelected from the developer record, separately from press coverage. Announcements are not necessarily shipped patches.
Last successful news check: This is our collection date, not the date of the latest patch.
Newest in this record ·
Raiders of the North for Age of Empires IV is Available Now!
From the recorded announcement
Dominion of the North Sea awaits with the all-new expansion, Age of Empires IV: Raiders of the North! Stand firm and resilient with the Scots, their strength in disciplined infantry, fortified defenses, and a unique and fruitful food economy. Carry out relentless raids with the Vikings, fielding mobile and adaptable…
Read more of this announcement
Dominion of the North Sea awaits with the all-new expansion, Age of Empires IV: Raiders of the North! Stand firm and resilient with the Scots, their strength in disciplined infantry, fortified defenses, and a unique and fruitful food economy. Carry out relentless raids with the Vikings, fielding mobile and adaptable infantry, and seeking the promise of glory. Plus, the Crucible has been reforged! Raiders of the North introduces four new exclusive Crucible missions, with fresh challenges like seaborne raiders and civil war among Scottish clans. Now playable solo or in two-player co-op, the mode expands with new Objectives, Boons, Perks, Mutators, and civilization-specific Talent Tracks, delivering meaningful variety and replayability. Embrace the spirit of adventure with new biomes, music, taunts, boons, a brand new talent track, and so much more! Raiders of the North is available now on Steam! With today’s update, we’ve snuck in some additional fixes and changes that were not part of our 17.0 Preview. You can find the list of additions here! Raiders of the North Available Now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4336170/Age_of_Empires_IV_Raiders_of_the_North/ Included in Raiders of the North Two new Civilizations The Vikings The Scots Expanded Crucible Mode Four new Co-op Crucible missions, with new objectives, points of interest, and much more. A New Progression system with unlockable Boons, a Civilization talent track, and Boon Ascension. Conqueror Mode further improved with 25 new weekly mutators! Two New Biomes Scottish Heathland Tundra Summer Two New Civilizations The…
Are you ready to weild dominion over the North Sea with the all-new expansion, Raiders of the North? Stand firm and resilient with the Scots, or carry out relentless raids with the Vikings, plus, the Crucible has been reforged and includes two-player co-op! Check out the time zone map and find out what time the newest…
Read more of this announcement
Are you ready to weild dominion over the North Sea with the all-new expansion, Raiders of the North? Stand firm and resilient with the Scots, or carry out relentless raids with the Vikings, plus, the Crucible has been reforged and includes two-player co-op! Check out the time zone map and find out what time the newest Age of Empires IV DLC launches in your area! Raiders of the North is Still Available for Pre-Order! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4336170/Age_of_Empires_IV_Raiders_of_the_North/
Big changes are right around the corner! With Raiders of the North launching soon, the Vikings and Scots will join the battlefield, bringing two distinct new civilizations and fresh ways to play Age of Empires IV. Alongside the brand new Raiders of the North expansion releasing on October 29, we’ve got lots of juicy…
Read more of this announcement
Big changes are right around the corner! With Raiders of the North launching soon, the Vikings and Scots will join the battlefield, bringing two distinct new civilizations and fresh ways to play Age of Empires IV. Alongside the brand new Raiders of the North expansion releasing on October 29, we’ve got lots of juicy updates to share that improve the experience for everyone. This includes some big quality-of-life improvements and targeted balance changes that support our goals of increasing landmark diversity and bringing civilizations better in-line across the board. Now on to the good stuff! This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming! 💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum 💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum 🗣 JOIN: Official Discord Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today! —The Age of Empires Team Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed. ◆ Update 17.0 ◆ Raiders of the North is Available October 29! Take up arms as two brand-new civilizations, the Vikings and the Scots, each bringing their own distinct mechanics, units, buildings, strategies, masteries, music, and evolving language to the battlefield. Raiders of the North also brings a major expansion to The Crucible, including four new missions, deeper progression, and the option to take on its challenges solo or with a friend in two-player co-op.…
85.7% of 96,255 Steam reviews are positive, which after adjusting for sample size gives a reception score of 85.5. The developers have shipped 2 substantial updates in the past six months, adding 7.6.
reception 85.5·support +7.6·Excellent
Computed from Steam’s own review tally and observable developer activity — never from anyone’s opinion of the game. How this is calculated
Should you look into this?
From Steam's own record
Current price
$39.99
Development
Actively supported
Last heard from developers
15 days ago
Historical posting rhythm
every ~8 days
Substantial updates (6 mo)
2
Current silence
within normal range
The developers post roughly every 8 days and were last heard 15 days ago — within their normal range. 2 substantial updates recorded in the past six months.
Last successful news check: Nov 10, 2026, 2:02 PM UTC. This is when we checked Steam, separate from when the developer last posted.
Before buying, confirm the edition, Steam activation and availability in your region. Search results may include DLC or other editions.
Distilled by the oracle
Our coverage
1 dispatch written from this game’s announcements
patchAug 14, 2026
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.
Two years of development
■ substantial ■ routine
50 announcements · 11 substantial · 6 months with nothing
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Games and expansions with a shared developer or genres. Follow a connection to explore its update history.
Dominion of the North Sea awaits with the all-new expansion, Age of Empires IV: Raiders of the North! Stand firm and resilient with the Scots, their strength in disciplined infantry, fortified defenses, and a unique and fruitful food econom…
Are you ready to weild dominion over the North Sea with the all-new expansion, Raiders of the North? Stand firm and resilient with the Scots, or carry out relentless raids with the Vikings, plus, the Crucible has been reforged and includes …
Big changes are right around the corner! With Raiders of the North launching soon, the Vikings and Scots will join the battlefield, bringing two distinct new civilizations and fresh ways to play Age of Empires IV. Alongside the brand new Ra…
The Crucible expands alongside the release of Raiders of the North! We’ve seen your love for the new Crucible game mode that was introduced with the Dynasties of the East, and closely monitored your feedback eager to further improve upon it…
The Vikings are a new civilization available with Raiders of the North Expansion for Age of Empires IV. This civilization represents the Viking Age, a period that started with a 793 raid on Lindisfarne monastery in northeastern England and …
The Scots are a new civilization available with Raiders of the North Expansion for Age of Empires IV. Scotland is a land shaped by resilience, forged through centuries of conflict and alliance. The union of the Picts and Scoti under Kenneth…
The war horns blare and a new age rises in Age of Empires IV – Raiders of the North is available for pre-order now! Command two new civilizations: the Vikings and the Scots. Each civilization with distinct systems and evolving playstyles, i…
WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers) WHEN: Thursday, August 13 @ 2:00pm PT / 5:00pm ET / 21:00 UTC (Countdown) EST. DOWNTIME: 1-2 HOURS GAMES & PLATFORMS IMPACTED Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store) Age of…
New Age of Empires 4 DLC Raiders of the North and AoE 2 DE expansion The Viking Sagas will bring fresh flavor to whichever RTS you prefer. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Age of Empires is doubling down on Vikings with a pair of new Norse …
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WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers) WHEN: Wednesday, July 8 @ 2:00pm PT / 5:00pm ET / 21:00 UTC (Countdown) EST. DOWNTIME: 1-2 HOURS GAMES & PLATFORMS IMPACTED Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store) Age of E…
Starting today and at the start of each month, the Ranked Map pool will now automatically rotate. Each rotation will always feature a set number of open, closed, hybrid, and naval maps to keep a balanced set of maps in play at all times. Th…
Cool off from the heatwave with the the Steam Summer Sale; happening now! Complete your Age of Empires collection with a couple of DLC plus up to 75% off on all your favorites - it’s time to Age up your Summer! Don’t wait for these discount…
Happy June! We hope everyone is looking forward to Raiders of the North, which was officially announced earlier this month and we can’t wait to tell you more about it in the months to come! In the meantime, we’re following up on our last pa…
Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition should now be a lot easier to play on Steam Deck / Steam Machine and anyone using a gamepad - with the new controller UI. Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/06/age-of-empire…
Dominion of the North Sea awaits with Raiders of the North, the next DLC for Age of Empires IV! Command two new powerful civilizations: the Vikings and the Scots, as you explore new systems, expanded Crucible missions, and dynamic new battl…
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