Today, we are thrilled to announce that Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition will be coming to the Microsoft Store, Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta) and Ultimate, and Steam on November 14, 2019!

For all you Age II players eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the Definitive Edition, you can also pre-order the game starting TODAY! You’ll be able to enjoy all the features—including cross play with your friends, four brand-new civilizations, three new campaigns, and a transport ship full of game improvements—right on day one, so be sure to unlock your copy today: 

• Pre-order Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition on Steam

Our goal is to make the best possible version of Age II that we can, working right alongside our community. So while Age II DE’s release is only a few months away, you can sign up to participate in the Age II DE beta right now—visit https://www.ageofempires.com/insiders to join the Age Insider program – and help us tune and refine Age II even further. You’ll also have a chance to participate in future beta opportunities, so sign up!

For more information, visit the official announcement over on Xbox Wire.

We’ll see you on the battlefield!

What a week it has been! As always, E3 brings out the passion and excitement of the community, and this year was no exception! This year, the folks from the newly-created Age of Empires studio at Microsoft Games teamed up with our friends from Forgotten Empires to show off our work over the past year: bringing you a first look, a hands-on demo, and the chance to sign up for the first beta playtest of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!
https://youtu.be/ZOgBVR21pWg
The announcement during Microsoft’s Keynote presentation kicked off a flood of news, discussion, and announcements from the event. On the heels of the official gameplay trailer, press and players began discussing and sharing news about all of the new features coming with the game. Here are just a few of the articles you can read to catch up with the conversation:

• E3 2019: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Launching Fall 2019, Beta Coming Soon via Xbox Wire
  
• Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and new campaign coming to Xbox Game Pass via Polygon
  
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition lives up to its title via Destructoid
  
• E3 2019: Hands-on with Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Coming This Fall with Xbox Game Pass on PC via The Video Games
  
• Age of Empires II is coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta)! via Xbox Game Pass
  
• Age of Empires II: HD Edition Won’t Be Taken Off Steam When Definitive Edition Launches via DualShockers

Throughout the week—with the help of the new and official Age of Empires Discord server—players have been doing some speculation of their own. The conversation has been amazing…the hype has been real…and we’ve even managed to answer several questions that caused some concern following the announcement. Here are some of the hottest discussion topics to emerge from E3 this week:

• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition at E3 via the Official Forum
  
• AoE2 Definitive Edition Trailer Breakdown and Screenshots via YouTube
  
• AOE 2 DE new civilizations revealed! via Reddit
  
• Age of Empires II DE – E3 2019 – Gameplay Trailer via Reddit

As a final treat, Mixer set aside some time to chat with Microsoft’s Adam Isgreen and Forgotten Empires’ Bert Beeckman about the game. While short, it provided a glimpse at a different experience than the E3 demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdqS0S2CgcQ
The week was HUGE for Age of Empires, the development team, and has been the PERFECT way to kick off the transition into the first beta of the Definitive Edition. If you haven’t already, make sure to sign up as an Age Insider for a chance to participate in the first playtest on June 18:

• Sign up to be an Age Insider!

We also know there are still questions that remain after E3: about the Definitive Edition and some of the other projects we have in the works. We hear you, and we’re excited to share more information, teasers, and details as they get further along in development.

• Age of Empires 4 is ‘making good progress’, and Microsoft will talk about it later this year via PCGamer

A huge thanks to everyone who dropped by the booth during E3, who shared their excitement with us on Discord, who helped share the news, and who have been a part of this wonderful community over the past two decades! We can’t wait to see what the journey holds in store for the next two decades!

See you on the battlefield!

— The Age of Empires Community Team

Looking for more #E32019 insight into Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition? Microsoft Creative Director, Adam Isgreen, will join Bert Beeckman (aka Cysion) from Forgotten Empires to play and discuss the game this coming Wednesday on Mixer!

• When: Wednesday, June 12 @ 10:45a PDT / 1:45a EDT / 5:45p GMT
  
• Where: https://mixer.com/ageofempires
  
• Latest Info: https://twitter.com/ageofempires

See you soon!

Its official—E3 2019 has begun! Our villagers are working diligently to complete the final touches of our booth and are eager to share with you Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

In addition to stopping by and trying out the demo on the floor, we have a special treat for all our fans, both here in attendance and around the world. As you may have heard, we will be launching a closed beta test of Age II: DE on Steam very soon!

Invites will be sent out to our esteemed Age of Empires Insiders in multiple waves over the coming weeks. Our goal is to get as many of our fans’ hands on the game as early as possible, listening to your valuable feedback and ultimately building a great game – together.

Not an Age Insider yet? Join the program by clicking here and have a chance at participating in the beta!

For our existing Age of Empires Insiders, we’ll need you to connect your Steam account with your Age of Empires Insider profile. This will enable you to be eligible for participation in the beta and share your feedback about the game with us!

If you have any questions on the Age Insider program, including how to connect your existing account to Steam, check out our handy FAQ here.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as check out our brand-new Official Age of Empires Discord channel here.

#E3Empires

Recently, we announced three of our Definitive Editions will be coming to Steam, giving our community the choice of where they want to play. With E3 fast approaching, kicking off with Microsoft’s Keynote on Sunday, June 9, we are excited to announce that we will be on the floor with Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!

Attendees will be able to experience stunning 4K Ultra HD graphics, a new, fully remastered soundtrack, and 4 new civilizations during an on-hands demo of the game.

Not attending E3? Not a problem. Click here to sign up as an Age of Empires Insider and stay up to date on all things Age announced during the conference as well as get access to perks such as:

• Updates about the latest developments to the Age of Empires franchise
  
• Opportunities to provide input to the development teams via Insider surveys
  
• The chance to be selected as a participant in special playtesting events for unreleased Age titles and features

Continue the conversation on the official Age of Empires forums and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@AgeOfEmpires).

#E3Empires

Today we announced that Age of Empires I, II, and III Definitive Editions are coming to Steam! Click here for more info!

The community is the future of Age of Empires, and we want to know what's important to you!


TAKE THE SURVEY

Your participation helps shape the future of the Age of Empires franchise. Thank you for your contribution!


Best
The Age of Empires Team

If you're looking for a holiday gift for your historical-RTS-loving buddy, have we got a deal for you! Pro tip: download the T90 Christmas Mod from the Steam Workshop to add a little holiday cheer to your matchups!

Also, all the other Age of Empires Steam offerings, including Age of Empires III, Age of Mythology, and all associated DLCs, are on CRAZY discount right now: Age of Empires Legacy Bundle

Balance Patch 5.8 is now live for all users! Thanks to everyone who participated in the open beta. This is a big balance patch aimed at improving the competitive experience. Discussion thread here.


CHANGES IN PATCH 5.8

• (Elite) Elephant Archers +2 archer armor vs anti-archer attacks (from -2 to 0).
  
• (Elite) Elephant Archers -2 armor vs anti-cavalry archer attacks (from 0 to -2).
  
• Eagle Scout training time in Castle Age +3s (from 32s to 35s), same as Eagle Warrior.
  
• Incan free llama bonus is no longer tied to the scout; requires Town Center on nomad-style maps.
  
• Vietnamese reveal enemy bonus no longer works in full tech tree games.
  
• Malay infinite fish trap bonus no longer works in full tech tree games.
  
• Khmer no building requirement bonus no longer works in full tech tree games.
  
• Teuton team bonus no longer overrides Faith technology in post-imperial age start games.
  
• Fixed the issue with siege workshops not receiving extra HP and armor in Imperial Age.
  
• Fixed the issue causing the attack sound of Galleons to not play.
  
• Fixed the issue with buildings placed on Desert, Cracked terrain not receiving a bonus damage when being attacked.
  
• Hunting dogs effect no longer appears in games with starting ages later than Dark.
  
• Villagers and towers do a reduced bonus damage vs walls before castle age.
  
• Watch Towers, Guard Towers and Keeps cost +25w.
  
• Siege Tower collision size changed from 0.50 to 0.45.
  
• Coinage moved up to Castle Age, Banking moved up to Imperial age.
  
• Couriers cost +200f +400g (from 400f 200g to 600f 600g).
  
• Italian fishing ship cost bonus reduced to 15% (from 20%).
  
• Khmer receive Arbalest upgrade.
  
• Mayan farmers work at closer speed to the farmers of other civilizations.
  
• (Elite) Arambai cost changed to 80 wood 60 gold (from 55w 60g).
  
• (Elite) Karambit Warrior cost changed to 30f 15g (from 25f 10g).
  
• Vietnamese archer HP bonus changed to immediate +20% HP to foot archers. (instead of the staggered effect).
  
• (Elite) Rattan Archers +5 HP.
  
• Korean faster building fortifications bonus is reduced for Towers(similar to how the Spanish building bonus is reduced for Wonders)
  
• Mamelukes receive 5 less damage from Halberdiers.
  
• Fire Galleys do 1 damage to fishing ships (reduced from 3)
  
• Villagers and towers no longer do reduced damage against walls before Castle Age
  
• (Elite) Camel Archers training time +4s (from 21s to 25s)
  
• Indians camels no longer receive +1 melee armor bonus
  
• Slavic farming bonus is closer to the intended +15% value (multiplier reduced from 1.31 to 1.28)

The much-anticipated balance patch 5.8 is now live for you to play on the Open Beta branch!

This patch contains many improvements and balance changes geared toward competitive play. Full patch notes available here. That is also the best place to leave feedback about the changes in 5.8 or to report bugs.

Your continued participation in the open beta ensures that we can keep making Age of Empires II HD the best game it can be for our millions of players worldwide!

Here's how to join the beta:

1. Right-click on Age of Empires II HD in your Steam Library and seelct "Properties".
   
2. Navigate to "Betas".
   
3. In the dropdown menu, select "open-beta" and then click "Close".
   
4. Wait for the game to update, then play!

You can reverse this process by following the steps above and selecting "None" in step 3.