Age of Empires 4 just quietly announced its first major DLC!

Without a big reveal trailer, the first major DLC for Age of Empires 4 was recently revealed. This is what is known about it so far.

Curious! While only a trailer for the console version of Age of Empires 4 was shown on the big stage of Opening Night Live, Relic has now actually relatively unceremoniously announced the first really big expansion for Age of Empires 4 called The Rise of the Sultans 

Two years after the release of the real-time strategy game, AoE 4 will thus receive its first DLC, which will not only be paid for, but could also introduce a completely new campaign. Not many details have been announced yet, but there is talk of the biggest expansion yet and there are even screenshots that reveal a little more.

This is all in The Rise of the Sultans

As mentioned, most of the content mentioned here is still estimates at this point, as none of it has been officially advertised. However, based on the screenshots, the probability is quite high that we will be right in this case.

A new campaign

(Could be a mood piece, or a new form of cutscenes.)

The screenshot above could be from the campaign, although it would be rather unusual. In the main game, AoE 4 still relied on documentary cutscenes. It is currently expected that the Abbasids will receive their own campaign here and that France, England and the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation will also appear.

New factions

(Pink cherry blossoms? Kimonos? If this isn’t Japan, I’ll eat a bonsai.)

with the Anniversary Update a year ago, the Ottomans and the Malians came into the game for free. Some experts even speculate that there could be three to top the earlier update – but there are no real indications of this. These could be the new factions:

Japan: Yes, sounds strange, since the DLC is actually about sultans. But the Japanese faction is already as good as certain. The screenshot above clearly shows buildings and units with Japanese flair.

Something Middle Eastern: We can’t imagine this DLC without a new faction from the Middle East. Actually, the Abbasids already exist in the game. A hot candidate in this case would still be the Byzantine Empire, which many fans would have liked to see at release.

New unit skins

According to all appearances, Age of Empires 4 will also receive its first skins for its units with the new DLC. The screenshots show some familiar troops of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, but dressed in new garments. Note the knights at the bottom and the landsknechts in the middle. The crusader robes at the bottom right of the second screenshot also indicate this.

New Maps

New maps for the multiplayer of Age of Empires 4 also seem plausible. Probably maps that are just in the Middle Eastern area or even in Japan if that becomes a new faction. However, it is unlikely that these new maps will be sold as part of the DLC. We rather expect a free update to be released alongside.

Price and Release

What the expansion will cost and when it will be released is still completely unclear. So far, there is no paid DLC of this kind, so we don’t know what exactly Relic has in mind here. But the fact that the expansion has its own Steam page shows that it will be paid for.

There is also no word yet on the release date. But we think it is very likely that Rise of the Sultans will be released this year.

Now it’s your turn! What’s your opinion on this new announcement? Have you been longing for an expansion for Age of Empires 4 and have your expectations been met? Is the DLC right up your alley or would you have preferred a different focus? Which factions do you think are in it? Drop it in the comments

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