It has been 20 years sinceAge of Empireswas first released on PC from Ensemble Studios. Today, Adam Isgreen, Microsoft Studios Creative Director forAge of Empires, announced that theAge of Empires: Definitive Editionhas been delayed into 2018.
The cited reasons for the delay may be controversial to someAge of Empiresfans. While it’s acknowledged that bringing a classic game back for a modern release “deserves to be treated with careful reverence,” the team says that changes are needed:
" At the same time, in a living, thriving genre, norms continually evolve, technology advances, and player expectations change. This is as true for RTS as for any other genre. So, the challenge is to recreate the experience not as it actually was but as we all remember it. How can we modernize the game while preserving the fun, discovery and magic of that first experience?"
And soMicrosoft Studiosdecided to delay the game to expandAge of Empires: Definitive Edition’s closed beta. Microsoft Studios hopes that this delay will allow for “more in-depth testing” of balance, multiplayer systems, and the single-player campaign.
Despite October 19 being the game’s prior release date, the new plan lacks such specificity. Early 2018 is all Microsoft Studios is able to say at this time. Aggregating player feedback from the closed beta and correcting any issues will apparently take an undefined period of time. 20 years is no joke, so ensuringAge of Empiresis modernized appropriately is no simple process.
As understandable as Microsoft Studios' justification seems, it’s being received with frustration by the game’s community, especially sinceAge of Empires: Definitive Editionwas being considered asthe most anticipated PC game for holiday 2017. Not to mention, several community members have already had their credit cards charged for the purchase. It’s a situation no one will likely be happy about, but it’s undeniable that if Microsoft Studios felt like delaying the game one week before launch was absolutely necessary, then it almost certainly was.
