Age of Empires is celebrating its 25th birthday this year, more precisely on October 17, 2022. For this special occasion, Microsoft and the developer studio Relic Entertainment have come up with some surprises for you.
The first is already here: Age of Empires 4 you can play completely for free on Steam right now – and if you like it, you can buy it cheaper than ever before.
Play Age of Empires 4 for free – how it works
The newest offshoot of the time-honored strategy series has some problems to contend with and was never quite able to trigger the enthusiasm that the second part aroused. In our follow-up test, Age of Empires 4 was still convincing:
Age of Empires 4
Posttest: What happened to the savior of real-time strategy?
Currently you can also just get your own picture of whether Age of Empires 4 might be worth your time and money. On Steam, AoE 4 can be played completely free of charge until Monday, August 29, 2022.
Simply visit the Age of Empires 4 Steam Shop page and click the new one Add to library
button – you can then install the game at any time via the Steam client.
If you like Age 4, you can then secure the game at the new lowest price: For the first time, the title is reduced by 50 percent and currently costs 25 dollars – that’s another 20 dollars less than the Steam Summer Sale.
Anniversary Update will be released in October
The second gift for the big anniversary comes in the form of the free Anniversary Update announced at gamescom 2022:
1:23
Age of Empires 4 shows the Ottoman and Malian units in the trailer
This includes two new civilizations, the Malians and the Ottomans: The Malians are an economic heavyweight and one of the richest trading nations in the game, while the Ottoman Empire has powerful cavalry and the largest available gunpowder siege weapon in the whole game.
Also included in the Anniversary Update are some new maps, achievements, and in-game events on October 25, 2022 completely free of charge will be released for all Age of Empires 4 owners.
