Microsoft is continuing its roll with new expansions to its almost 25-year-old RTS Age of Empires II. Following the release of Dynasties of India to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition last year, The Return of Rome expansion is dropping on May 16. It was quietly announced during the series" 25th anniversary livestream, but we finally have a release date now.
What"s special about this release is that it is essentially porting the content of the original Age of Empires: Definitive Edition over to the sequel. It"s still unclear just how many civilizations from the game (12 in base game and four more from Rise of Rome expansion) available will make the jump over, but they will all be treated with the sequel"s updated gameplay mechanics, AI, and visuals.
While Age of Empires II: DE, III: DE, and IV have all been receiving new content regularly, the original game"s Definitive Edition has mostly been left behind. Bringing the old content to a newer platform that is still receiving support should be a good plan to keep the original"s small but dedicated fanbase happy.
May 16th. pic.twitter.com/WTX2lfgTL3
— Age of Empires (@AgeOfEmpires) April 7, 2023
Gameplay footage is still missing, however, with the release date announcement only coming via a simple tweet. The recently released Xbox console version of the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is getting the Return of Rome expansion on May 16 too.
As for what"s next for this popular real-time strategy franchise of Microsoft, Age of Empires IV is slated to receive an Xbox Series X|S launch later this year. Age of Mythology is also returning soon with a complete remaster akin to the modernized Definitive Editions, though a release window has not been announced yet.