GAMES & PLATFORMS IMPACTED

• Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires IV (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  

OBJECTIVES

• Routine server updates and maintenance.

DETAILS

• Ranked matchmaking will disabled exactly one hour before the maintenance window to prevent disruption to newly-formed matches.
  
  
• Any matches still in progress at the start of the maintenance window will be disrupted when it begins.
  
  
• DURING THE MAINTENANCE WINDOW, YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO LAUNCH THE GAME, BUT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MATCHMAKE OR ACCESS ANY ONLINE FEATURES.
  

• 3 civs on a rotating schedule for skirmish & multiplayer matches
  
• 8 hostable maps
  
• Act 1 of the Blood, Ice, and Steel campaign
  
• Art of War challenges
  
• And more!

How to Access

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is now available to download for free on Steam! New players can jump into a trial version simply by downloading the game on Steam, and open to access straight from the menu!

Already own Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition? Then fear not, as this will not impact current players. All you have to do is invite your friends!

Or, are you ready to access Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition base game with all the civilizations and extras? Get the base game instead!

What is Included?

Pool of 3 Playable Civilizations on a Rotating Schedule

Players can pick from 3 civilizations on a rotating schedule. Every week, the first civilization adding to the starting pool rotates out and a new one in. First up in the roster of playable civilizations are the French, Haudenosaunee, and Russians.

[table equalcells="1"][tr][td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td][/tr][/table]

First civilization rotation is on August 18th.

The First Act of the Blood, Ice, and Steel Campaign

Take advantage of the first campaign and jump into an epic journey!

Follow Morgan Black; Knight of St. John on his quest to the New World. Do battle with the hardy Ottoman Empire, ferocious pirates and a dangerous secret society. Befriend unlikely allies and earn their aid to complete your quest of defeating the Circle of Ossus; and their plans to obtain eternal life.

Play the Algiers Historical Battle

Historical battles are story-driven historical narratives in which you’ll be given specific set objectives to complete. Each Historical battle has fully voiced in-game dialogue, beautifully crafted maps, cities and cinematics and the best part is, you can play them with a friend!

Where to Find Co-Op:
Co-Op is easily accessible from two different places within the UI.

From the Historical Battles screen.

1. From the Main Menu, click on Historical Battles.
   
2. Select your mission.
   
3. Click on the Host Co-Op button.
   
4. You can choose to make it public or password protected, and like any multiplayer game, invite your friends.
   

From the Multiplayer screen.

1. From the Main Menu, click on Multiplayer.
   
2. Choose Host a Casual Game.
   
3. From the Host Game dialog pop-up, under Game Mode, you can choose Co-Op Battle from drop down list.
   
4. After selecting Co-Op Battle, simply choose which battle you want to play from the Co-Op Scenario drop down list.

Algiers Historical Battle



In the 16th century privateering in the Mediterranean flourished as a result of the staunch rivalry between the Ottoman Empires and the European Christian states. Famous Barbary corsairs like Hayreddin Barbarossa and his brothers gained infamy because of their great success while privateering. In 1516 the brothers managed to take the city of Algiers, deposing its former ruler, and creating their own Barbary pirate state. However, the Spanish were not going to let a pirate state exist so close to their homeland and sent a large army to deal with the Barbary threat and acquire the city of Algiers.

Access to the Art of War, Compendium, and Tech Trees of All Civilizations

Art of War
Hone your skills and strategy with the Art of War – a set of 10 in-game tutorials designed to quickly teach the core skills you’ll need to win!

Compendium
Explore the history of each civilization, their military, buildings and more in the in-game Compendium.

Tech Trees
Learn the strategies and tactics available to each civilization in the Technology Tree. Detailing their unique roster of units, technologies, and bonuses to unlock their true potential.

A Collection of 8 Hostable Multiplayer Maps

Host a match and choose from 8 Maps!

🌐 Central Asia:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Central Asia: Teams are separated by two shallow rivers that flow into the Aral Sea in this arid region.

Settlements: Tengri, Sufi.

Outlaws: Wokou Horseman, Wokou Monk.[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Deccan:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Deccan: A central, forested plateau overlooking a series of strategically placed trade sites.

Settlements: Udasi, Sufi, Bhakti

Outlaws: Marathan Dacoit, Marathan Thuggee[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Great Plains:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Great Plains: Home of many Natives and plenty of Food.

Settlements: Comanche, Cheyenne, Apache

Outlaws: Comanchero, Renegado[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Guianas:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Guianas: Control the central resources and settlements in this large valley, or extend to the perimeter of the map to establish a foothold on a trade route.

Settlements: Caribs, Tupi

Outlaws: Pistolero, Pirate[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Northwest Territory:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Northwest Territory: A green and rainy region divided by rivers with shallow crossings.

Settlements: Nootka, Klamath, Cree

Outlaws: Comanchero, Renegado[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Malaysia:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Malaysia: A peninsular region with separate, defendable oceans on each side.

Settlements: Jesuit, Sufi

Outlaws: Marathan Dacoit, Wokou Pirate[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Mongolia:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Mongolia: Explore generous grassland populated with unprecedented herds of grazing animals and a distant northern Trade Route.

Settlements: Tengri, Shaolin

Outlaws: Wokou Horseman, Wokou Monk[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Saguenay:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Saguenay: A coastal region with plenty of resources. It may be summer or winter.

Settlements: Cree, Huron

Outlaws: Pistolero, Comanchero[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]

New Global Events! Unlock New Hero Cosmetics

Starting August 2, all players will be able to participate in a Hero Cosmetic challenge event each month! The aim of each of the events is the same – to have a target number of participants join and play to reach the goal of unlocking that month’s Hero Cosmetic to use in game.

In order to participate in the challenge, simply play a single player or multiplayer game to earn XP and gain entry to a leaderboard for the challenge. When there are enough entries on the leaderboard a Hero Cosmetics is awarded to anyone who participates in the challenge.

To find the event progress, navigate to the UI panel on the Main Menu. Statistics are displayed for the following:

• Target number of participants
  
• Current number of participants
  
• Icon and description of the Hero Cosmetic reward

[table][tr][td]Featured Civilization: August[/td][td]Reward[/td][td]Cosmetic[/td][/tr][tr][td]Russians[/td][td]Mila the Bear
Look into those big wide eyes,
could that bear ever harm anyone?
She just wants to play! Hurl around 
those enemy soldiers through the air!
[/td][td][/td][/tr][/table]

FAQ

1) Will the free trial version be available on Windows Store?[expand type="details"]This will be available on Steam only. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is available for free via Game Pass![/expand]
2) I already own Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, will this affect me?[expand type="details"]This will not impact current Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition owners. However this will be the chance to invite friends and new players to try it out![/expand]
3) Will ranked be available in the free trial version?[expand type="details"]Ranked is available only in the base game, which can be purchased here.[/expand]
4) Will free trial players be able to play with players who own the base game?[expand type="details"]Yes, trial game players can play with base game owners, and both game owner types can host multiplayer games.

If trial players hosts a multiplayer game, they can choose from the limited set of maps available to host on. If a base game owner hosts, any owned maps can be chosen for the map, and trial game players can join the game even if they don’t own the map.[/expand]

Need more help? Visit our support page here!

Want Access to All the Civilizations and Extras?

How to Access

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is now available to download for free on Steam! New players can jump into a trial version simply by downloading the game on Steam, and open to access straight from the menu!

Already own the full Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition game? Then fear not, as this will not impact current players. All you have to do is invite your friends!

Or, are you ready to access the full Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition game with all the civilizations and extras? Get the full game instead!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2477660

What is Included?

Pool of 3 Playable Civilizations on a Rotating Schedule

Players can pick from 3 civilizations on a rotating schedule. Every week, the first civilization adding to the starting pool rotates out and a new one in. First up in the roster of playable civilizations are the French, Haudenosaunee, and Russians.

[table equalcells="1"][tr][td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td][/tr][/table]

First civilization rotation is on August 18th.

The First Act of the Blood, Ice, and Steel Campaign

Take advantage of the first campaign and jump into an epic journey!

Follow Morgan Black; Knight of St. John on his quest to the New World. Do battle with the hardy Ottoman Empire, ferocious pirates and a dangerous secret society. Befriend unlikely allies and earn their aid to complete your quest of defeating the Circle of Ossus; and their plans to obtain eternal life.

Play the Algiers Historical Battle

Historical battles are story-driven historical narratives in which you’ll be given specific set objectives to complete. Each Historical battle has fully voiced in-game dialogue, beautifully crafted maps, cities and cinematics and the best part is, you can play them with a friend!

Where to Find Co-Op:
Co-Op is easily accessible from two different places within the UI.

From the Historical Battles screen.

1. From the Main Menu, click on Historical Battles.
   
2. Select your mission.
   
3. Click on the Host Co-Op button.
   
4. You can choose to make it public or password protected, and like any multiplayer game, invite your friends.
   

From the Multiplayer screen.

1. From the Main Menu, click on Multiplayer.
   
2. Choose Host a Casual Game.
   
3. From the Host Game dialog pop-up, under Game Mode, you can choose Co-Op Battle from drop down list.
   
4. After selecting Co-Op Battle, simply choose which battle you want to play from the Co-Op Scenario drop down list.

Algiers Historical Battle



In the 16th century privateering in the Mediterranean flourished as a result of the staunch rivalry between the Ottoman Empires and the European Christian states. Famous Barbary corsairs like Hayreddin Barbarossa and his brothers gained infamy because of their great success while privateering. In 1516 the brothers managed to take the city of Algiers, deposing its former ruler, and creating their own Barbary pirate state. However, the Spanish were not going to let a pirate state exist so close to their homeland and sent a large army to deal with the Barbary threat and acquire the city of Algiers.

Access to the Art of War, Compendium, and Tech Trees of All Civilizations

Art of War
Hone your skills and strategy with the Art of War – a set of 10 in-game tutorials designed to quickly teach the core skills you’ll need to win!

Compendium
Explore the history of each civilization, their military, buildings and more in the in-game Compendium.

Tech Trees
Learn the strategies and tactics available to each civilization in the Technology Tree. Detailing their unique roster of units, technologies, and bonuses to unlock their true potential.

A Collection of 8 Hostable Multiplayer Maps

Host a match and choose from 8 Maps!

🌐 Central Asia:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Central Asia: Teams are separated by two shallow rivers that flow into the Aral Sea in this arid region.

Settlements: Tengri, Sufi.

Outlaws: Wokou Horseman, Wokou Monk.[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Deccan:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Deccan: A central, forested plateau overlooking a series of strategically placed trade sites.

Settlements: Udasi, Sufi, Bhakti

Outlaws: Marathan Dacoit, Marathan Thuggee[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Great Plains:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Great Plains: Home of many Natives and plenty of Food.

Settlements: Comanche, Cheyenne, Apache

Outlaws: Comanchero, Renegado[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Guianas:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Guianas: Control the central resources and settlements in this large valley, or extend to the perimeter of the map to establish a foothold on a trade route.

Settlements: Caribs, Tupi

Outlaws: Pistolero, Pirate[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Northwest Territory:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Northwest Territory: A green and rainy region divided by rivers with shallow crossings.

Settlements: Nootka, Klamath, Cree

Outlaws: Comanchero, Renegado[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Malaysia:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Malaysia: A peninsular region with separate, defendable oceans on each side.

Settlements: Jesuit, Sufi

Outlaws: Marathan Dacoit, Wokou Pirate[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Mongolia:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Mongolia: Explore generous grassland populated with unprecedented herds of grazing animals and a distant northern Trade Route.

Settlements: Tengri, Shaolin

Outlaws: Wokou Horseman, Wokou Monk[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]
🌐 Saguenay:[expand type="details"][table][tr][td][/td][td]
Saguenay: A coastal region with plenty of resources. It may be summer or winter.

Settlements: Cree, Huron

Outlaws: Pistolero, Comanchero[/td][/tr][/table][/expand]

New Global Events! Unlock New Hero Cosmetics

Starting August 2, all players will be able to participate in a Hero Cosmetic challenge event each month! The aim of each of the events is the same – to have a target number of participants join and play to reach the goal of unlocking that month’s Hero Cosmetic to use in game.

In order to participate in the challenge, simply play a single player or multiplayer game to earn XP and gain entry to a leaderboard for the challenge. When there are enough entries on the leaderboard a Hero Cosmetics is awarded to anyone who participates in the challenge.

To find the event progress, navigate to the UI panel on the Main Menu. Statistics are displayed for the following:

• Target number of participants
  
• Current number of participants
  
• Icon and description of the Hero Cosmetic reward

[table][tr][td]Featured Civilization: August[/td][td]Reward[/td][td]Cosmetic[/td][/tr][tr][td]Russians[/td][td]Mila the Bear
Look into those big wide eyes,
could that bear ever harm anyone?
She just wants to play! Hurl around 
those enemy soldiers through the air!
[/td][td][/td][/tr][/table]

FAQ

1) Will the free trial version be available on Windows Store?[expand type="details"]This will be available on Steam only. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition full game is available for free via Game Pass![/expand]
2) I already own the full game, will this affect me?[expand type="details"]This will not impact current Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition owners. However this will be the chance to invite friends and new players to try it out![/expand]
3) Will ranked be available in the free trial version?[expand type="details"]Ranked is available only in the full game, which can be purchased here.[/expand]
4) Will free trial players be able to play with player who own the full game?[expand type="details"]Yes, trial game players can play with full game owners, and both game owner types can host multiplayer games.

If trial players hosts a multiplayer game, they can choose from the limited set of maps available to host on. If a full game owner hosts, any owned maps can be chosen for the map, and trial game players can join the game even if they don’t own the map.[/expand]

Need more help? Visit our support page here!

Want Access to All the Civilizations and Extras?

Choosing the Mode

Start Conditions

The Empire Wars Start

Overall Starting Buildings and Units:

• 23 Villagers already collecting resources
  
• 4 Villagers in the queue of the Town Center
  
• 2 Scouts
  
• Mill
  
• Lumber Camp
  
• Mining Camp

Overall Civilization Starting Resources:

• 100 Food
  
• 200 Wood
  
• 150 Gold
  
• 0 Stone

Abbasid Dynasty

Additional Buildings:

• Market
  
• House of Wisdom
  
• An additional 4 Houses, for a combination of 8 Houses within influence of the House of Wisdom
  

Starting Villagers Locations:

• 4 collecting from Sheep at the Town Center
  
• 8 collecting Berries at Mill
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 5 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

Chinese

Additional Buildings and Units:

• 1 Village and 2 Houses
  
  • Instead of the standard 4 Houses
  
  
• 2 Imperial Officials supervising the Lumber Camp and Mill
  
  • 2 less starting Villagers
  
  

Starting Villager Locations:

• 11 collecting Food from Sheep at the Mill
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 4 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

Delhi Sultanate

Additional Starting Buildings, Units & Research:

• Mosque with 3 garrisoned Scholars
  
• Forestry, Efficient Production and Wheelbarrow research in progress
  

Starting Villager Locations:

• 4 collecting Food from Sheep at the Town Center
  
• 8 collecting Food from Berries at the Mill
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 5 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

English

Additional Starting Buildings:

• 8 Farms around the Mill

Starting Villager Locations:

• 4 collecting Food from Sheep at the Town Center
  
• 8 collection Food from Farms at the Mill
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 5 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

French

Additional Starting Buildings and Units:

• Mining Camp on Stone
  
• Blacksmith
  
• 3 additional Villagers
  

Starting Villager Locations:

• 13 collecting Food from Sheep at the Town Center
  
• 7 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 6 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

Holy Roman Empire

Additional Starting Units:

• 2 Prelates inspiring on Lumber and Food
  
• 2 less starting Villagers

Starting Villager Locations:

• 12 collecting Food from Sheep at the Town Center
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 5 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

Malians

Additional Starting Buildings and Units:

• A Pit Mine
  
• 3 additional Houses, for a combination of 7 Houses within Influence of the Pit Mine
  
• 2 Cows at the Town Center
  

Starting Villager Locations:

• 12 collecting Food from Cows at the Town Center
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 5 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

Mongols

Additional Starting Buildings and Units:

• In line with the Mongols civilization:
  
  • No Houses, Mill, Mining Camp or Lumber Camp
  
  
• Ger on Gold
  
• Ovoo on Stone
  
• 2 Pasture within Influence of the Ovoo
  
• 1 Khan and a single Scout
  
  • Instead of 2 Scouts
  
  

Starting Villager Locations:

• 12 collecting Food from Sheep at the Town Center
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 5 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp

Ottomans

Additional Starting Buildings:

• Blacksmith
  
• Military School with influence of the Blacksmith
  

Starting Villager Locations:

• 12 collecting Food from Sheep at the Town Center
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 5 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

Rus

Additional Starting Buildings and Units:

• Instead of the Mill:
  
  • 2 Hunting Cabins, one on Berries and the other on Wood
  
  
• Wooden Fortress within Influence of the Lumber Camp
  
• An additional Scout, for a total of 3 Scouts
  

Starting Villager Locations:

• 12 collecting Food from Sheep at the Town Center
  
• 6 collecting Wood at Lumber Camp
  
• 5 collecting Gold at the Mining Camp
  

Survey Ends Monday, July 31st at 11:59 pm PT!

• Updates to Ranked Season Rewards!
  
• Upcoming seasonal events!
  
• Changes to address Queue Dodging & Cheating in Ranked.
  
• … plus bug fixes and balance changes.
  

💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum
💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum
🗣 JOIN: Official Discord

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

New! Seasonal Event: Summer Vacation

For our next seasonal event it’s time to grab your sunscreen and head to the beach! Beat the heat with new challenges and in-game rewards from July 25th to August 21st!

Ranked Season Updates

Map Pool Change

Since our Map Monsters have left for the season, they will no longer be appearing on ranked maps. The ranked map pool is otherwise unchanged. Battle your way up the ranked ladder before the season ends on October 23rd at 11:59 pm PDT (Oct 24th at 06:59 UTC)!

Ranked Rewards

Mentioned in both our Season Five release notes, and our follow-up post, progress continues to be made on changing the Ranked Rewards system. Starting with this patch, players should now see the highest rank they’ve achieved this season on their profile and on the multiplayer ranked screen.

Queue Dodging

We’ve updated the game servers’ backend to better detect when a player purposefully disconnects from their match. The system should now apply queue dodging cooldown punishments more instantly than previous configurations. Purposefully disconnecting from a Ranked Team or Ranked 1v1 lobby or load screen, as well as any time during Ranked 1v1 matches, will now also count as a loss for the disconnecting player in addition to the cooldown punishment.

These changes, in congruence with some of our other changes, should reduce the frequency of queue dodging. We are continuing to monitor this closely and may further tighten queue dodging punishments to be more in-line with other Age titles.

Additionally, we remain aware queue dodging is more frequent at the high and low extremes of ELO levels and are continuing our work to address the matchmaking process for these extremes, to further reduce the frequency of queue dodging for these players.

Ranked Cheating

In our update kicking off the start of Season 5, we mentioned our continued investigation of cheating on the Ranked ladder, especially in Teams games. Thanks in part to reports sent in from players, we have taken some keys steps to reduce cheating in Ranked.

Voice Chat Reporting

See our FAQ for more information on Voice Chat features including How to Report a Player. Please include as much information as possible including the date & time of your match. If you have a recording or stream of your match, please include this in your report too. Thank you.

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

:alertalert: DISCLAIMER

This list is subject to change and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence.

For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.