Wololo, Age gamers!
This is a super-emotional letter for me because I’ve been wanting to write it for nearly 10 years. Like many of you, I loved the original Age of Empires, and as Ensemble drove the Age of Empires games forward, I loved them even more. Matt Booty, Phil Spencer and I have spent a lot of time reminiscing about Age’s past, and plotting the future for this limitless franchise. Working with partners like Relic, Forgotten Empires, and Tantalus, we’ve taken a 2-prong approach to revisiting Age of Empires: Honor the past, and bring the games into the future.
Today is an important day for us! All of the Age of Empires teams have been working hard toward today, XO – the day we not only launch Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, but we also start the long (very long!) series of reveals about Age of Empires IV. Hope you all enjoyed the show, and that you’re as excited as we are about the future for Age.
In June, we announced that we’ve built a studio dedicated to all things Age. Yesterday, we announced the name: World’s Edge. Why “World’s Edge”? Because we love the fact that Age of Empires is about exploring without limit. Human history has so many stories to tell, RTS gameplay has plenty of depth yet to find, and you – the Age of Empires community – have unending passion for the game.
And so finally it is to you, the Age of Empires gamers, that we extend tremendous gratitude and thanks. You are global, you are vocal, you have dedicated your time and energy and passion to the Age of Empires games, and we’re thrilled to be in the game with you. My friend Adam Isgreen likes to say that Age is Human, Global, Impactful, and Enlightening. These words also describe you! Thank you for your support and your attention.
Hope you all enjoy the relaunch of our greatest legacy game yet, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Hope to see you online, comp-stomping, PVP’ing, and streaming campaigns and mods.
XO
Shannon Loftis
Studio Head, World’s End Edge
By the way, you might have noticed during the XO19 broadcast that our studio name is listed as “World’s End.” I’m so happy to let you know that we’ve pulled back from the brink! Humanity is saved! And the *actual* name for the new studio is “World’s Edge.”