Age of Empires is 25 years old and fans are shaping the franchise
by WIRED from Ars Technica - All content on (#65G96)
Enlarge (credit: Microsoft)
It's been 25 years since a small studio in Dallas recast the ancient world through the prism of a real-time strategy game. Age of Empires has echoed Monk wololos about our homes ever since: Parents believed that their kids were learning history; kids believed that they were gaming surreptitiously. And veteran players know that both were right.
Yet Age of Empires did not always receive the love it does today. The rise of the Xbox saw PC gaming take a back seat for Microsoft: Communities like AoE's were left to fend for themselves. In a very real way, it was the passion of these obsessives that led to Microsoft's renewed attention and the release of the franchise's latest entry, 2021's Age of Empires IV.