| Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition | |
| Publisher: | Xbox Game Studios |
| Composer: | Todd Masten |
| Series: | Age of Empires |
| Genre: | Real-time strategy |
| Modes: | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Director: | Adam Isgreen |
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is a 2019 real-time strategy video game developed by World's Edge and Forgotten Empires and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is a remaster of the 1999 game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original. It features significantly improved visuals, supports 4K resolution, and includes all previous expansions from the original and HD Edition. In addition, the game includes The Last Khans, an expansion that adds four new civilizations based on Central Asia and Eastern Europe, as well as four new campaigns. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition was released for Windows on November 14, 2019, and was ported to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on January 31, 2023.
The core gameplay elements are shared heavily with the original. The remaster includes 4K graphics, improved visuals for troops and buildings, the ability to zoom in and further out, and a new spectator mode. It features a new expansion called The Last Khans and includes four new civilizations: Bulgarians, Cumans, Lithuanians and Tatars. Four new campaigns were added for the new civilizations: Ivaylo, Kotyan Khan, Tamerlane and Pachacuti which is about the Inca civilization and replaces El Dorado from the HD Edition (Lithuanians do not appear as a playable civilization in any campaign; however, they represent Poles in the Ivaylo campaign). It includes all previous expansions from the original (The Conquerors) and HD edition (The Forgotten, The African Kingdoms, Rise of the Rajas).
Players can choose between the original AI, the updated HD Edition AI that was added alongside the HD Edition of the game, and a newer AI developed for the Definitive Edition.[1] The original AI had to cheat to be competitive, while the new AI is advanced enough to not require any cheating. When the old and new AIs were pitted against each other in a test, the new one easily defeated the old one. Unit pathfinding is also supposedly improved upon. Players can shift-queue villager tasks.[2] Farms now have the option to be replenished automatically.[3]
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings was developed by Ensemble Studios and released in 1999. Ensemble Studios was acquired by Microsoft in 2001 and ultimately shuttered in 2009, just after their final project, Halo Wars, was finished.[4] [5] Hidden Path Entertainment developed a high-definition remaster of Age of Empires II, HD Edition, which released in 2013. Among other features, HD Edition added Steam Workshop integration for custom content.[6] Concurrently, a group of modders had been developing additional content and bug fixes for the original game, called Forgotten Empires. Approaching Microsoft after the mod's release in late 2012, and learned Microsoft was developing HD Edition and was interested in turning their mod into an official release.[7] Their efforts became the first expansion for HD Edition, "The Forgotten", developed in conjunction with Skybox Labs.[8] [9] The mod team, now Forgotten Empires LLC, continued to collaborate with Microsoft on new expansions for HD Edition.[10] [11]
On August 21, 2017, at Gamescom, Microsoft announced Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition was in development by Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media and Wicked Witch Software. On June 9, 2019, Microsoft revealed the gameplay trailer at Xbox E3 2019. It released on the Xbox Game Pass for PC in addition to Steam and the Windows Store on November 14, 2019. A port to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S was announced during the 25th anniversary livestream on October 25, 2022, and was released on January 31, 2023.[12] The console version features both gamepad and mouse and keyboard controls, and optional cross-platform play with PC version.
An expansion pack, Lords of the West, was announced on December 15, 2020, and released on January 26, 2021. The Lords of the West expansion introduced two further civilizations, the Burgundians and the Sicilians, as well as three new campaigns, featuring Edward Longshanks, the Dukes of Burgundy, and the Hautevilles.[13]
A second expansion, Dawn of the Dukes, was announced on April 10, 2021, and released on August 10. It introduced two Central European civilizations, the Poles and the Bohemians, as well as three new campaigns, featuring Jadwiga, Jan Žižka, and Algirdas and Kestutis.[14]
A third expansion, Dynasties of India, was announced on April 14, 2022, and was released on April 28. It features three new civilizations, the Bengalis, the Dravidians, and the Gurjaras. Additionally, the expansion also features reworks to the existing Indian civilization, which was renamed the Hindustani. Three new campaigns, featuring Babur, Rajendra, and Devapala, were also introduced.[15]
To celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary a fourth expansion was announced, Return of Rome. It is composed of content from Age of Empires: Definitive Edition brought into the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition engine, plus one new civilization (the Lạc Việt) and three new campaigns (featuring Sargon of Akkad, Pyrrhus of Epirus and Trajan), and the Roman civilisation for the main game.[16] [17] It was released on May 16, 2023.[18] On 8 September 2023, two campaigns (Ascent of Egypt and The First Punic War) from Age of Empires: Definitive Edition were added to Return of Rome.[19] Two other campaigns for Return of Rome, Glory of Greece and Voices of Babylon, were added on October 31.[20]
A fifth expansion, The Mountain Royals, was announced on October 16, 2023, and released on October 31. It introduces two new civilizations, the Georgians and the Armenians, as well as three new campaigns, featuring Tamar, Thoros the Great, and Ismail.[21]
A story expansion, Victors and Vanquished, was announced on February 23, 2024, and released on March 14. It adds 19 scenarios by modder Ramsey Abdulrahim; 14 are remakes of his previous works, with five being new.[22] [23]
In June 2021, for the first time since Age of Empires Online, co-op campaigns were introduced into the game.[24]
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic with a score of 84/100 from 32 reviews. Windows Centrals Cale Hunt praised the improved artwork, animations and quality of life additions but criticized the AI path finding and pointed out a need for further balancing.