Age Of Empires 4 comes out this October
Joan of Arc will be there, along with some elephants
If you don't want to play a Halloween-y game at Halloween, now you can play a new Age Of Empires game instead. Age Of Empires 4 is set to release on October 28th, and during Microsoft and Bethesda's E3 stream we saw some new footage of some mighty battles. Joan of Arc is there, as are many horses, sieges and a handful of elephants.
First revealed back in 2017, Age Of Empires 4 is being developed by Relic, the folks who made Company Of Heroes. It's set in medieval times, and like the aging empires before it, this one will bring together civilisations from all over the world to face off against each other.
In the trailer, we see lots of real-time strategy battles across grassy plains, as well as on ships in the ocean. There's a siege of a European city, and Joan of Arc charging with her soldiers into a fight. We also see some cavalry units, as well as elephants and camels in battle too.
Players will be able to choose between the English, Mongols, Chinese, Delhi Sultanate, Abbasid Dynasty and the French, and each faction have their own focus (or thing they're good at).
"The French were revealed alongside the 100 Years War campaign, allowing players to place themselves in the battles fought between the English and French in the 14th and 15th centuries," the devs say. "The French thrive in trade, with the Chamber of Commerce and Royal Institute landmarks helping strengthen a player’s late game. Royal Knights are one of the civilization’s special units with a fearsome charge ability."
In his Age Of Empires 4 preview, Nate said: "If I had to describe what my ideal Age Of Empires sequel would look like, I have to say it would look a lot like this."
Age Of Empires 4 releases on October 28th on Steam and the Microsoft Store. It'll also be on Xbox Game Pass For PC at launch.
E3 2021 may be over but our memories live on - see everything on our E3 hub. Many more big game showcases and streams are still to come this summer, leading up to Gamescom, so see our summer games stream schedule to stay up to date.