What changed in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition in 2025

Resolved an issue with the Extended Stats setting on the Achaemenid Town Center and Georgian Fortified Church.

Resolved an issue where the player icon progress could reset after restarting the game, causing unlocked 10-win icons to be lost.

Resolved an issue where menu narration on consoles failed to announce required button prompts across multiple menus, impacting accessibility.

Resolved a crash when launching the Chronicles: Alexander the Great campaign on the Microsoft Store platform.

Resolved a hotkey/input related crash affecting Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X players.

Resolved a crash that could occur due to the radial menu initializing.

Resolved an issue where civilization details would not appear when hovering over civs in the Skirmish Civilization Selection screen.

Resolved a crash that occurred immediately after loading into gameplay.

Resolved a memory related crash affecting PS5 users.

Resolved an issue where using the arrow keys in certain text boxes could cause the UI to become unresponsive.

Resolved an issue where menu narration on consoles failed to announce required button prompts across multiple menus, impacting accessibility.

Resolved an issue where civilization icons could persist for removed AI players in Skirmish after changing the civilization set.

Experience a campaign chronicling Alexander’s life with 18 scenarios, including unique Thracian and Puru scenarios.

Now references the correct mission name: 'Destroy both naval blockades in ‘Divine Salamis’.'

Occurred under some circumstances.

Unlock 16 bonus units and 4 bonus technologies to tailor your force in the campaign.

New gameplay elements include fortified outposts, phalangites, and war elephants.

Five difficulty settings added for the campaign to cater to different player skills.

Players could not get it after killing 10 enemy units with a Spartan Polemarch.

Revamped models for siege weapons enhance the visual experience.

13 original music tracks heighten the drama of battles in the new campaign.

Command the Macedonians, Thracians, and Puru, each with unique units and architecture.

Issue occurred when 'Military Mode' map was selected.

Reduced download sizes.

Hotkey works when 'Stop' UI button is visible.

Now references the correct mission name: 'Complete ‘The Fruits of Empire’ without demanding medium or high tribute.'

Step into the sandals of history’s greatest conqueror with Chronicles: Alexander the Great, featuring a narrative-driven campaign.

Naval combat has been revamped with additional ship types and new strategies involving Oysters as a gold source.

Units in Chronicles: Alexander the Great are reskinned versions of existing units, maintaining their stats and roles.

Chronicles civilizations have access to four Unique Technologies, enhancing replayability and strategy.

The upcoming release of Chronicles: Alexander the Great features a grand campaign with 18 scenarios and new civilizations.

Chronicles: Alexander the Great introduces three new civilizations for Skirmish and multiplayer.

Players can set matches to Antiquity Mode, allowing expanded water trade and unique gameplay mechanics.

Five difficulty levels have been calibrated based on community feedback to enhance gameplay experience.

Introducing a new campaign focusing on Alexander the Great, featuring innovative gameplay and rich storytelling.

Includes 13 new and original tracks to enhance the immersive experience of the campaign.

The campaign includes various historical locations and scenarios, such as the siege of Tyre and the construction of Alexandria Eschate.

Players can now conquer at their own pace, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.

Unlock 16 bonus units and 4 bonus technologies to use in future scenarios as you progress through the campaign.

Experience a grand campaign with 18 scenarios chronicling Alexander's life, including unique scenarios for Thracians and Puru.

Pre-order the new DLC featuring a narrative-driven campaign about Alexander the Great, releasing on October 14th.

The DLC introduces the Macedonians, Thracians, and Puru civilizations, each with unique units and technologies.

13 new music tracks for both campaign and skirmish modes to enhance the gameplay experience.

The campaign features stunning animated mosaic cutscenes that enhance the storytelling experience.

Overhauled graphics for siege units to enhance immersion in the game.

Addressed an out of sync issue that was occurring on PlayStation 5.

Fixed a crash that occurred when players without the Chronicles: Battle for Greece DLC tried to enter a Skirmish using a Chronicles Civilization-only set.

Upcoming expansion for Age of Mythology: Retold featuring Japanese mythology and a new pantheon.

Bringing Age of Empires Mobile to PC with optimized controls and enhanced visuals.

Introduced five new civilizations: Shu, Wei, Wu, Jurchens, and Khitans, along with three new campaigns.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition launched on PlayStation 5.

Over $200,000 awarded in S-tier events with upcoming LAN events in Germany and China.

Improvements and adjustments have been made to the game's graphics.

Stability improvements have been made to enhance overall performance.

Nine new official maps have been added to the game.

Various gameplay fixes and adjustments have been made.

A variety of balance changes have been implemented to improve gameplay.

User interface improvements have been implemented.

Enhancements have been made to the audio experience in the game.

Charge attack now also shoots the main projectile with 5 damage, in addition to the existing 5 projectiles with 1 damage each.

Iron Pagoda ability recharge reduced from 60 seconds to 40 seconds, Elite from 50 seconds to 30 seconds.

Khitans' overall food income reduced from +12% to +7% compared to generic un-upgraded Farmers.

Tuntian cost adjusted from 250 food 300 gold to 250 food 300 wood.

Charge attack now properly affected by Parthian Tactics.

War chariot reload time reduced from 8 to 6.5.

War chariot speed increased from 0.8 to 0.9.

Grenadier cost reduced from 35 food 70 gold to 35 food 65 gold.

Grenadier HP increased from 35 to 40.

Herder walking distance on Pastures increased.

Food generation per soldier increased from 1.2 food/minute to 1.8 food/minute.

Elite Fire Lancer cost reduced from 40 wood 50 gold to 40 wood 45 gold.

Iron Pagoda upgrade cost reduced from 950 food 750 gold to 950 food 550 gold.

Xianbei Raider attack increased from 4 to 5.

Fire Lancer attack increased from 8 to 9.

Grenadier attack increased from 11 to 12.

Khitans' Shepherds and Herders generate +10% additional food civilization bonus removed.

Wei gains access to Gold Shaft Mining.

A new custom scenario where players control Baybars before the pivotal battle against the Mongols.

Play as Baybars in a new scenario where you prepare for the pivotal battle against the Mongol horde.

Age of Empires partners with the Louvre for an exhibition on the Mamluk sultanate, featuring collaborative content throughout June.

Fixed an issue in the file path separators that caused sound mods to stop working.

Fixed an issue where World RNG could be called during the match loading screen in Arabia, causing players to instantly desync as soon as the game would start.

A small update addressing recently reported out of sync issues, particularly on the Arabia map.

Introduction of a Public Update Preview Program for players to test the new build and provide feedback.

Resolved a crash happening when loading a Chronicles: Battle for Greece Grand Campaign saved game.

The newest DLC, The Three Kingdoms, introduces five new civilizations and is available now on Steam.

Resolved a crash happening upon entering the Historical Battles screen after obtaining a gold medal in any scenario.

Rocket carts can no longer fire more volleys than intended after quickly issuing many attack ground commands.

New campaigns feature narratives from the perspectives of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and the Sun Clan.

Resolved issue where players were unable to invite friends to a private lobby via Xbox invitations.

Resolved issue where performance decreased after repeatedly opening and closing the Chat or Diplomacy menus.

Resolved issue leading to inconsistent display and processing of achieved campaign medals in different parts of the game.

Resolved a crash occurring when loading a Victors & Vanquished: Finehair saved game.

New DLC introduces five new civilizations and three new campaigns based on China's history.

Resolved issue that prevented Armenians and Georgians profile icons from being unlocked and saved for Steam users.

New civilizations include Shu, Wei, Wu, Jurchens, and Khitans, each with unique units and technologies.

Pre-emptive update to ensure smooth multiplayer functionality during PlayStation Early Access.

The Three Kingdoms DLC will be launching on May 6th.

Two new difficulty levels: Easiest and Legendary.

This change does not affect multiplayer latency behavior.

Includes Hei Guang Cavalry, Traction Trebuchets, Lou Chuans, Fire Lancers, Rocket Carts, and Dragon Ships.

Announcing the next DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, releasing on May 6th.

The DLC introduces the Shu, Wei, Wu, Jurchens, and Khitans civilizations, each with unique units and technologies.

The new civilizations will be fully available in ranked gameplay.

New flora, fauna, and atmospheric visuals to immerse players in the Three Kingdoms era.

Players can experience campaigns featuring Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and the Sun Clan, with branching narratives and dynamic decisions.

Players can make key decisions that shape each campaign's narrative.

Numerous bug fixes will be implemented based on player feedback.

Several new maps will be introduced in the upcoming update.

New features and content will support Random Map Scripting and the Scenario Editor.

The next expansion for Age II: DE will include five brand new civilizations, all playable in Ranked Multiplayer.

Updates to the Technology Tree user interface will be introduced.

A significant number of balance changes will be included in the update.

Enhancements to support modding will be included in the update.

Visual updates will be made to Castles, Elite Unique Units, Monks, and Monasteries.