Hold empires in your hand

The historical strategy game Age of Empires will come to mobile devices later this year. It has been adapted by TiMi Studio Group (Call of Duty Mobile, Pokémon Unite) and World’s Edge, an Xbox Games Studio, and the development team behind the Age of Empires franchise. One can preregister for the free-to-play Age of Empires Mobile now.

The Age of Empires series is immensely successful. The first game was released in 1997 and, by 2000, it had sold more than 3-million copies worldwide, according to Gamasutra. The series is widely recognised for its massive influence on real-time strategy games.

Earnest Yuen, senior director of production at World’s Edge, says: “We’re excited for even more players around the world to experience the magic of Age of Empires with the upcoming launch of Age of Empires Mobile. Combining the strategy games expertise and rich heritage of World’s Edge with TiMi’s excellence in mobile gaming, we’re building a brand-new way for players around the world to join the Age of Empires universe.”

Age of Empires Mobile offers a tailored mobile gaming experience, incorporating elements from the original series while introducing new features to ensure strategic, simulated battles across various modes. Key features include the fast combat and base-building familiar to PC players, engaging multiplayer action with epic siege battles, exploration of empire-building, and strategic battles on a persistent battlefield, along with one-on-one player-versus-player combat (PvP).

The game features a diverse lineup of historical and legendary leaders, such as King Arthur, Joan of Arc, Julius Caesar, Leonidas I, and the Queen of Sheba. Each leader brings unique talents, enabling players to build teams and strategise for emergent PvP and player-versus-environment scenarios.

Brayden Fan, a general manager for TiMi Studio Group, says: “We grew up playing Age of Empires on our PCs and believe we can offer a new but similarly exciting experience for mobile players with Age of Empires Mobile. Players all over the world can build massive empires, form alliances, and fight against each other to prove who is the best.”  Top of Form

A spin-off from the Age of Empires series, Age of Mythology, also garnered huge success. The Definitive Edition of Age of Mythology: Retold is set to release this year (2024), and will feature many quality of life updates.

* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and writer for Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Threads at @jas2bann.