What changed in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition in 2022

Implemented bug fixes based on community feedback.

Celebrate winter with the Frosty Friends from the North event featuring all units enjoying the snow.

Various balance changes have been made to improve gameplay.

Players can keep all mods and profile icons unlocked during the event by signing into Xbox Live.

Complete in-game tasks to unlock exclusive rewards during the event.

Join the celebration with unique challenges and rewards from October 25 to November 8.

Introduction of new maps for the 1v1 and team game map pools based on community votes.

New maps for 1v1 ranked play include: Acclivity, Arabia, Arena, Fortress, Four Lakes, Golden Swamp, and Land Nomad.

New maps for team games include: Arabia, Arena, Black Forest, Golden Pit, MegaRandom, Migration, Nomad, Oasis, and Steppe.

Participate in the Penguin Party Event with challenges and rewards from September 19 to October 3.

Unlock exclusive goodies by completing in-game tasks during the Penguin Party Event.

In-game ranked map pool voting available from September 20 for the next two weeks.

New set of maps for the ranked play from September 6 to September 20.

The new team game map pool includes Arabia, Arena, Black Forest, Gold Rush, Hideout, Michi, Nomad, Northern Isles, and Runestones.

The new 1v1 map pool includes Archipelago, Arabia, Arena, Atacama, Golden Pit, Hill Fort, and MegaRandom.

Celebrate with new rewards including golden fleece-wearing sheep and Crusader Knight mods.

Installation size reduced by 20 GB (5 GB for Base Game and 15 GB for Enhanced Graphics Pack).

New shortcuts added for rematches.

A huge list of fixes implemented based on player feedback.

Players can now vote for maps in the ranked pool.

New community map picks for 1v1 ranked games include African Clearing, Arabia, Arena, Four Lakes, Hideout, Migration, and Runestones.

New community map picks for team games include Arabia, Arena, Black Forest, Coastal Forest, Lombardia, Nomad, MegaRandom, and Mountain Pass.

New set of maps available for ranked play from August 23 to September 6.

New set of maps available for ranked play from August 9 to August 23.

New community map picks for team games include AFRICAN CLEARING, ARABIA, ARENA, BLACK FOREST, and MEDITERRANEAN.

New community map picks for 1v1 ranked matches include ARABIA, ARENA, LAND MADNESS, MEGARANDOM, and NOMAD.

The Team Game Community Map Picks include AMAZON TUNNEL, ARABIA, ARENA, ATACAMA, and BLACK FOREST.

Introduction of a new set of maps for the ranked play period from July 26 to August 9.

The 1v1 Community Map Picks include ARABIA, ARENA, FORTRESS, GOLD RUSH, and KAWASAN.

A new calculation system for Elo points awarded after matches to reduce rating inflation.

A one-time correction to team game Elo to normalize player ratings, resulting in most players seeing a drop in their team game rating.

New set of maps available for ranked play from July 12 to July 26.

New maps for team games include ARABIA, ARENA, BLACK FOREST, FORTRESS, GOLDEN PIT, LOMBARDIA, NOMAD, SACRED SPRINGS, YUCATAN.

New maps for 1v1 ranked play include ARABIA, ARENA, FOUR LAKES, GOLDEN SWAMP, HIDEOUT, ISLANDS, MEGARANDOM.

Complete in-game tasks to unlock exclusive goodies during the Sun Festival event until July 21st.

Celebrate the Summer with the new Sun Festival event featuring exclusive in-game tasks and rewards.

Maps included: AFTERMATH, ARABIA, ARENA, BLACK FOREST, MEGARANDOM, MIGRATION, MOUNTAIN RIDGE, NOMAD, VALLEY.

Maps included: ARABIA, ARENA, ATACAMA, BOG ISLANDS, GOLDEN PIT, MARKETPLACE, STEPPE.

Introduction of new maps for the 1v1 and team game map pools.

Fixed an issue where Cavalry occasionally stops attacking enemy units.

Fixed an issue where Villagers sometimes weren’t going back to work properly.

Fixed an issue where units in formations would try to garrison into a building even if they couldn’t.

Villagers no longer get stuck while gathering wood in certain circumstances.

Villagers shall no longer go idle when gathering resources near walls.

Fixed a bug to Regicide game mode, where the player was unable to Garrison their King in buildings.

Fixed a rare issue where units were unable to pass through a wall that was previously destroyed.

Fixed a rare issue where units clipped with a tree and crossed it.

New set of maps for ranked play including community picks for 1v1 and team games.

New community map picks for team games include ARABIA, ARENA, BLACK FOREST, ENCLOSED, HAMBURGER, MEGARANDOM, NOMAD, SOCOTRA, and STEPPE.

New community map picks for 1v1 games include AFRICAN CLEARING, ARABIA, ARENA, HIDEOUT, MEGARANDOM, NORTHERN ISLES, and SERENGETI.

The 1v1 map pool features Arabia, Archipelago, Arena, Four Lakes, Land Madness, Land Nomad, and Socotra.

The latest ranked map rotation includes new community map picks for both 1v1 and team games.

The team game map pool includes Arabia, Arena, Black Forest, Gold Rush, Hideout, MegaRandom, Nomad, Northern Isles, and Oasis.

Unlock a new profile icon by signing into Xbox Live during the event.

Various bug fixes based on community feedback.

Unlock a mod where Villagers box with their fists as melee attack after killing a unit with Villagers.

Celebrate Spring with a special event where villagers take a vacation and complete tasks for rewards.

Unlock a mod where dead Boars turn into a medieval boar banquet after killing a Boar with your Town Center or Villagers.

Unlock a mod where dead Herdables turn into a stew in a large cooking pot after gathering 5000 Food.

Unlock a profile icon of a Villager looking at the blueprint of a castle after researching an Elite Unique Unit upgrade.

The world's biggest Age of Empires tournament returns, featuring competitions in multiple Age of Empires titles.

The main event will take place at Castle Heidelberg, Germany, from October 21 to October 30, 2022.

Two open qualifiers scheduled for August 20-21 and August 27-28, 2022, for Age of Empires II: DE.

Introduction of a new set of maps for the ranked play period from May 17 to May 31.

The 1v1 map pool includes Arabia, Arena, Hideout, Kawasan, Megarandom, Migration, and Nomad.

The team game map pool includes African Clearing, Amazon Tunnel, Arabia, Arena, Black Forest, Habob, Lombardia, Nomad, and Team Islands.

The 1v1 map pool includes ARABIA, ARENA, ATACAMA, FOUR LAKES, GOLDEN PIT, HILL FORT, and TEAM ISLANDS.

Introduction of a new set of maps for the ranked play period from May 3 to May 17.

The team game map pool features ARABIA, ARENA, BLACK FOREST, FOUR LAKES, GOLDEN PIT, MEGARANDOM, NILE DELTA, NOMAD, and TEAM MOATS.

Unlocks a mod to decorate your Town Center with an 'Elephant acrobatics' statue by training 40 Indian Elite Unique Units on Day 4.

Unlocks a mod where Mounted units leave fire footsteps in the snow terrain by playing as specific civilizations on Day 1.

The third expansion for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is now live, featuring three unique civilizations and exciting campaigns.

Unlocks a profile icon of an Angry Siege Elephant with burning buildings behind him by razing 30 buildings with Armored Elephants on Day 5.

Event running from April 28 through May 13 with new challenges and rewards.

Unlocks a mod that grants Battle Elephants a menacing customization by training 30 Armored Elephants on Day 3.

Unlocks a profile icon of an Imperial Camel wearing a Mughal helmet by training 20 Camel Rider line units on Day 2.

Unlocks a new campaign characters profile icon by signing into Xbox Live during the event.

Resolved an issue that was interfering with matches starting.

Each civilization includes new unique units and technologies.

Fixed a crash during Civ selection when certain Mods were enabled.

Introducing the Dynasties of India with brand new campaigns and civilizations.

Celebrate the release with a new set of challenges and rewards.

Campaigns span across India, offering new gameplay experiences.

Exclusive preview of the upcoming DLC featuring the Bengalis, Dravidians, and Gurjaras civilizations.

Introducing three new civilizations, each with unique units, technologies, and bonuses.

Earn new achievements on Xbox or Steam accounts with the Dynasties of India expansion.

The Hindustanis civilization is available to play without purchasing the Dynasties of India expansion.

Three new fully-voiced campaigns exploring historical narratives in India.

Pre-order the third expansion for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, featuring new civilizations and campaigns.

Celebrate Women’s History Month with the return of the Women of History Event featuring profile icons, mods, and more.

Unlock the 'grab your pitchforks' Cheat Code transforming all your Villagers into Flemish Militia.

Unlock the Queen Visual Replacement for the King during the event.

The 1v1 map pool includes African Clearing, Arabia, Arena, Hideout, Islands, Megarandom, and Runestones.

The team game map pool includes Arabia, Arena, Black Forest, Fortress, Islands, Megarandom, Nomad, Oasis, and Runestones.

Introduction of a new set of maps for the ranked play period from March 22 to April 19.

Unlock the Princess Yodit Visual Replacement for your Gbeto during the event.

New profile icons including Princess Yodit, Jimena, and Sikelgaita added to the library.

Players can launch the game but cannot access online features during maintenance.

Ranked matchmaking will be disabled one hour prior to the maintenance window.

Any matches in progress will be disrupted when the maintenance begins.

Routine server updates and maintenance for matchmaking servers.

New community map picks for team games include ARABIA, ARENA, BALTIC, BLACK FOREST, GOLD RUSH, HIDEOUT, MEGARANDOM, NOMAD, and SCANDINAVIA.

Unlocks a mod that equips Siege Rams with a dragon head and Carnival masks by training 10 Siege Rams.

Unlocks the Carnival Queen profile icon by signing into Xbox Live during the event.

Introduction of new maps for the ranked play period from February 22 to March 22.

Unlocks a profile icon of villagers wearing Bauta masks by harvesting 20 herdable animals.

New community map picks for 1v1 ranked matches include ARABIA, ARENA, FOUR LAKES, HABOOB, NOMAD, RUNESTONES, and SOCOTRA.

Join the Venetian Ball event with new challenges and rewards available until March 8th.

Unlocks a mod to decorate your Town Center with a statue of a masked jester by researching the Architecture technology.

Unlocks a mod that equips Spearman-line units with a Carnival hat and mask by training 100 Spearman-line units in a single match.

Unlocks a profile icon of a Condottiero with a feathered helmet by training 40 Condottieri.

Unlocks by researching the Architecture technology in a University.

Unlocks by training 10 Siege Rams in any number of matches.

Unlocks by signing into Xbox Live during the event.

Unlocks by training 40 Condottieri in any number of matches.

A new set of challenges from February 22 through March 8 to unlock exclusive rewards.

Unlocks by harvesting 20 herdable animals with villagers.

Unlocks by training 100 Spearman-line units in a single match.

New maps for team game mode include Arabia, Arena, Black Forest, Lombardia, Megarandom, Nomad, Pacific Islands, Runestones, and Steppe.

Ranked Death Match has returned with fully ranked custom lobbies for an improved player experience.

Handicap option allows players to buff up to 2x for a more balanced experience in custom lobbies.

Introduction of a Matchmaking Queue and Quick Play option for improved ranked play.

New maps for 1v1 mode include Acropolis, Arabia, Arena, Cenotes, Megarandom, Runestones, and Water Nomad.

More than 20 new maps added to the map pool, including popular tournament maps.

Introduction of new maps for 1v1 and team game modes based on developer picks and community votes.

A small version of the tech tree is now shown when hovering over the Technology Tree button in-game.

Numerous balance changes made to encourage variation between units and civilizations.

Fully Co-operative Historical Battles are now officially released, featuring updated AI and story-driven narratives.

A new waypoint numbering system has been added for command queues.

Addition of two new expansions: Lords of the West and Dawn of the Dukes, each with new civilizations and campaigns.

Players can now engage in ranked death matches in custom lobbies.

Two new co-op campaigns featuring Alaric and Saladin have been added.

A new co-op event running from January 31 through February 14.

Resolved issues with Hindi text rendering.

Addressed a performance issue reported in Team Games.

Introduction of a new set of maps for the ranked play period from January 25 to February 08.

New community map picks for team games include Arabia, Arena, Black Forest, Coastal Forest, and Hill Fort.

New community map picks for 1v1 ranked matches include African Clearing, Arabia, Archipelago, Arena, and Gold Rush.

Introduction of a new set of maps for ranked play, including community picks for 1v1 and team games.

Maps include AFRICAN CLEARING, ARABIA, ARENA, BLACK FOREST, GOLDEN PIT, HIDEOUT, ISLANDS, MEGARANDOM, and NOMAD.

Maps include ARABIA, ARENA, FOUR LAKES, HIDEOUT, MEGARANDOM, NOMAD, and SOCOTRA.