A recent leak suggests that Age of Empires 2 is being released on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One today, October 25. This will be officially announced at the 25th anniversary stream, if it is indeed true.
This isn't as absurd as you might think. While RTS games are usually exclusive to PC (and for good reason), we've seen titles like Halo Wars bring the genre to console with relative success. Of course, playing anything complex on controller is a challenge, but it can be done; look at how well the Steam Deck has been received. And let's not forget that Age of Empires 2 was originally released on the PS2.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves. What you need to know right now, if you're an Age of Empires fan with an Xbox, is that you should tune into the 25th anniversary of Age of Empires 2 on October 25. The broadcast will begin at 10:00 PT (13:00 ET / 18:00 BST / 19:00 CEST), and you can watch it here:
We expect some very exciting news to be announced at this showcase, but thanks to a recent leak, you won't need to wait until the broadcast is live to hear it. Just keep reading.
Age of Empires 2 To Be Released On Xbox One & Xbox Series X/S
As first reported by Gematsu, we expect Age of Empires 2 to be released on Xbox One and the Xbox Series X/S immediately after the 25th AoE Anniversary Showcase held on October 25th, 2022. They've chosen AoE 2: DE and not AoE 4 (the most recent entry in the series) because AoE 2 has come to be recognized as the classic, standout game in the franchise. Also, and as mentioned, AoE 2 was originally released on console, and so it naturally lends itself to that kind of platform more than AoE 4 does.
Here is an image shared by Gematsu that seems to show the AoE 2 page on the Xbox store:
If you're going to give this a go on console, and you haven't played since the original AoE 2, then you'll be delighted to know the Xbox release will actually be AoE 2: Definitive Edition. The Definitive Edition gives you more civilizations from Eastern Europe, an improved UI, and some quality of life improvements like automatic reseeding on farms.
Will you be downloading it for Xbox, or, does an RTS sound too hellish on console to even try? It can't be as terrible as Gotham Knights, can it?
For more great games coming this month: