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Age of Empires Online begins August 16
Age of Empires Online is ready to be ushered out of beta and onto PCs worldwide on August 16. The game, which will initially launch with the Greek and Egyptian factions, will be available at retail and online at AgeofEmpiresOnline.com. The freemium title will offer "more than 40 hours" of free co-op and competitive gameplay, but if you're looking to upgrade straight out the gate, Microsoft has booster bundles available. %Gallery-124916%
Age of Empires Online launches this fall
Age of Empires Online's march to retail will conclude this fall, the game's official Twitter announced, with a Microsoft rep informing us a specific launch date is expected to be revealed May 31. After launch, the freemium title will have "a parade of Premium Content" at under $20. The additions include two more civs to keep the Greeks and Egyptians company by the end of 2011, along with a "Premium 'Pro' Civilization" pack that will advance players immediately to level 20 for "expert play." Check out our Age of Empires Online preview for what to expect from the initial experience.
Age of Empires Online to launch this fall
Eurogamer reports today that Microsoft Game Studios' Age of Empires Online is slated for a fall release. The freemium RTS game is currently in open beta and will be releasing in both digital download and retail box forms. While the game itself will be free-to-play, there will be a cash store that sells a variety of upgrades for players to purchase. These include vanity items that allow players to give their capital cities a unique bit of flair, new civilizations for the player to control (the game launches with only two: Greek and Egyptian), and upgrade packs such as the "pro premium civilization" upgrade pack, which will provide players with a level 20 civilization and is described as being "geared towards hardcore RTS gamers." The exact release date and pricing will be announced at the end of the month. If you're interested in giving the game a spin prior to its official release or just want to find out more about the upcoming title, you can head over to the Age of Empires Online official site, have a look around, and sign up for the beta.
Age of Empires Online beta download public until Saturday morning
The Age of Empires Online Beta is publicly available for download over the next two days. The beta will continue past that time, but if you've been curious about the title now's your chance to grab it without the need of tokens or a special invite. It'll be open through the morning of Saturday, May 7 at 9:01am (presumably London time, since the press release was issued from London, so ... 4:01am Eastern). We were impressed during our Age of Empires Online preview and, despite its cartoony exterior, found something that isn't Age of Empires "Lite." We appreciated that it's trying to be a core "casual" title and not, in Microsoft's own words, "a nickel and dimey microtransaction thing." [Thanks, Sean]
Microsoft reveals 48-hour 'secret access' to Age of Empires Online beta
Yearning for an early look at Age of Empires Online? If so, Microsoft Game Studios has some good news for you. Starting today, you can jump into a 48-hour secret access beta signup session simply by registering for a Windows Live ID (or logging in if you already have one). This is your last chance to get in on some Age of Empires beta action before MGS closes it to the public, so hurry and visit the signup link before Saturday, May 7th. You'll be able to download the beta client immediately and get started testing shortly thereafter. If you missed our beta key giveaway a couple of weeks ago, don't miss what could be your last opportunity to take part in the upcoming MMORTS' testing phase!
Snag an Age of Empires Online beta key!
If you're an old school Age of Empires player, then you have fond memories of harvesting bushes for berries, scooting your peasants inside the town hall during an attack, and spreading your civilized society by the pointy end of your swords. Those good ol' memories are being made new in Gas Powered Games' Age of Empires Online, which is heading our way good and fast. Assuming that the thought of creating a civilization from scratch to dominate your enemies pleases your sensibilities, you can now grab a free beta key from Curse. Simply nab a key while they last, then head on over to the Age of Empires Online site to redeem it and download the beta client. We're looking forward to hearing how this MMORTS plays, so if you get in, make sure to give us your fair assessment!
Age of Empires Online posts first dev diary video
Cross an RTS game over to an MMO? Madness! Well, OK, maybe it's not madness at all, but this new video dev blog from the team behind Age of Empires Online is pretty crazy! In it, we're treated to an interesting look behind the scenes of this upcoming MMORTS title under production at Gas Powered Games. However, as we learn from CEO Chris Taylor, Producer Dex Manely, and Marketing Manager Justin Kirby, there's a lot of brainstorming and work that goes on when it comes to creating interesting video dev blogs for a game. With fun, stylized graphics, vividly colored environments, tons of action and a pedigree spanning several different popular titles, Age of Empires Online looks like it has a good start. For now, check out the video embedded behind the break, and if the game seems like your idea of fun, head over to the Age of Empires Online site to get signed up for a chance to beta test.
Gas Powered Games replaces Robot as Age of Empires Online developer
Chris Taylor's Gas Powered Games (makers of the original Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander) has taken over development of the upcoming free-to-play Age of Empires Online title, according to the game's official blog. Microsoft says that it became clear during development of some of the game's content packs that the GPG team "share our long-term commitment to make this a success," and that the move has been "the plan for some time," and won't delay the game at all. This, of course, leaves previous developer Robot Entertainment – comprised of AoE veterans from the now-shuttered Ensemble Studios – in the lurch, as Microsoft has shown them the door. On its official message board, Robot confirms that "this was always in the plan," and says that the goal all along has been to work on original titles. Now that they've handed off the reins to Taylor and GPG, the company is reportedly hard at work on a new title called Orcs Must Die! Still no word on how close we are to a release date for Age of Empires Online, but Microsoft is still pushing beta signups on its website.
Age of Empires Online preview: Build like an Egyptian
Despite its cartoon look and smiling warmongers -- not to mention its free-to-play gameplay model -- Age of Empires Online is undeniably an Age of Empires game. The new direction doesn't much change the series' core gameplay, as this real-time strategy title is still all about resource management, with a pretty steep learning curve. This is not Age of Empires "Lite." So, imagine my pleasant surprise when, below the coat of cute and colorful paint, I found a deep gameplay experience that quickly summoned my dormant nostalgia for Age of Empires 2 and 3. I jumped right into the Egyptian faction's first mission -- a skirmish in which I had to rid the map of the opposing Greeks -- without issue, despite never having played AoE Online before. %Gallery-114988%
Age of Empires Online gameplay, microtransactions detailed
New details on Microsoft's Age of Empires Online have surfaced at Gamasutra, with much of the information centered on the game's free-to-play business model and associated microtransaction offerings. The game will feature a Premium Civilization upgrade that unlocks all of a civilization's abilities simultaneously, as well as booster packs that add gameplay types, quests, and appearance customization items to the mix. Age of Empires Online will launch with Greek and Eqyptian civilizations, and will be the first entry in the long-running series to feature persistent gameplay (i.e., your city will evolve and earn resources even when you're logged off). The game also boasts PvP functionality as well as cooperative play on the vast majority of its quests. You can learn more about the game, as well as sign up for beta, at the official website.
Age of Empires Online's Egyptian faction, social features announced
Microsoft has revealed the Egyptians (a.k.a. the "blue guys") in Age of Empires Online, its two-faction freemium revamp of the series. The Egyptians will oppose the red team (obviously), which is hellbent on expanding Greece's borders across the whole world. Stay tuned -- we'll be posting our preview of the Egyptians gameplay later today. Additionally, Microsoft has detailed some of the social and MMO features planned for AoE Online, which center on players' capitol cities, and has confirmed Game for Windows Live support (including Achievements). The capitol city -- you can have two; one each for your Greek and Egyptian civilizations -- will be the player's persistent headquarters, used to access quests and rule over the empire, and will function as a travel destination and interaction point for other players. Aside from marveling at your flower gardens (think of your capitol as "FarmVille Lite"), visiting players can join up with you in co-op missions or simply shop at your unique store fronts. Paying players will have incentive to encourage visitors to shop, too, as the premium faction upgrade adds kickbacks: You'll receive in-game currency for purchases made from your stores. Microsoft's detailed "cheat sheet" of the differences between free and paid play is posted after the break. Importantly, Microsoft has said it won't "nickel-and-dime" players -- upgrading from the free-to-play version of a faction is done through a one-time premium add-on, the "Premium Civilization Pack." Microsoft has not yet announced pricing for the upgrades. Age of Empires Online is currently in beta and should be released this year. %Gallery-114988%
Age of Empires Online promises not to nickle-and-dime players
Love it, hate it or meeky accept it, the terms "freemium" and "free-to-play" come with a lot of baggage these days, sometimes to the point of overshadowing the game itself. When Age of Empires fans heard that Microsoft was going to be releasing an online version of the hit RTS series, some of the fans' enthusiasm was tempered by the word that it would adopt the popular freemium business model. Microsoft Game Studio's Dave Luehmann was on hand at Gamescom to assure players that the company isn't out to nickle-and-dime fans to skip parts of the game they don't like. Joystiq reports that they won't be adopting the same strategy as other F2P models. "I don't like to pay for things I don't like to do, that seems kind of backwards," Luehmann said. "So how about we produce things that people actually want?" Instead of purchasing a lot of little items, the studio will simply put up large chunks of content as one-time purchases. These might include a new civilization or an area containing a plethora of quests. Microsoft is still feeling out a fair price point for the additional content, but it pointed to the fact that Age of Empires Online will ship with more than 25 hours of completely free entertainment to enjoy.
Age of Empires Online freemium model not looking to 'nickel and dime'
Age of Empires Online may be a freemium title, but Microsoft Game Studios General Manager Dave Luehmann tells us "it's not a nickel and dimey microtransaction thing." During an interview at Gamescom today, the executive expressed that the studio doesn't want it to feel like some other freemium titles where "what you don't want to do in the game is what you pay for," or "that you pay to skip the parts you don't like." Luehmann explained, "I don't like to pay for things I don't like to do, that seems kind of backwards. So how about we produce things that people actually want?" Robot Entertainment Designer Jerome K. Jones, who is working on the game chimed in, "So it would be like paying for an expansion pack. ... You won't buy one thing at a time. You might buy an entire civ or another region with a bunch of quests in it." The game is currently in Beta and will officially launch in the first half of 2011. Both Robot and Microsoft are trying to figure out how much to eventually charge for content. The duo told us the game currently has over 25 hours of free stuff available, which kind of stops making the game sound "freemium" and makes it sound more, um, free?
Microsoft announces Age of Empires Online
The first bit of interesting MMO news from Gamescom 2010 belongs to Microsoft, as the software giant has announced the latest entry in the venerable Age of Empires franchise. Age of Empires Online will offer players the chance to take their city-building adventures to the next level via a persistent online capital that grows even when its owner is offline. The new title also features co-op multiplayer questing, trading, and a leveling mechanic in addition to story-based gameplay. Age of Empires Online will also feature free online gameplay via the Games for Windows platform, as well as a new graphical style that represents something of a stylistic departure from past titles in the series. Interested in what the new title looks like? Check out our gallery of gameplay screenshots below, and be sure to watch the trailer here! %Gallery-99582%
Age of Empires Online announced for PC from Robot Entertainment
Ensemble Studios may be no more, but Microsoft hasn't forgotten the franchise it created: Age of Empires. Heading into GamesCom 2010, the company has announced a revival of the series in the form of Age of Empires Online, which is being developed by Robot Entertainment, a studio that knows a thing or two about the subject. That's because it was started by Ensemble Studios founder Tony Goodman. Details on the game are fairly slim, other than its target platform (Games for Windows) and the fact that it's an online title with persistent capital cities and the ability to embark on adventures cooperatively. Microsoft has promised that screenshots and a first trailer for the game are incoming -- we'll have them up for you just as soon as possible.
