Age of Empires is 25 years old and fans are shaping the franchise

25 years have passed since a small studio in Dallas made a real-time strategy game. Monk wololos about our homes ever since Age of Empires, because parents believed that their kids were learning history and kids believed that they were playing games. Veteran players are aware that both were correct.

Age of Empires was not always loved. Communities like AoE's were left to fend for themselves as PC gaming took a back seat to the XBOX. The passion of these obsessives led to the release of Age of Empires IV.

All the games continue to receive updates or DLCs. Age of Empires games are headed for Xbox and mobile devices, complete with cross-play so console gamers can get their hands on the RTS classic and play with their PC-loving friends. Also, Age of Mythology is finally getting a definitive edition. Age IV is building momentum, too, with an anniversary edition crowning a year of updates designed to woo players who found it a tad stripped back at launch. AoE is now a point of real-time-strategy pride and a shining jewel in Microsoft’s roster.

After watching the anniversary event, I spoke with Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft gaming, and Michael Mann, studio head of World's Edge.

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The interview has been edited to make it clearer.

It's the 25th anniversary of Age of Empires and Phil has been with Microsoft for more than 30 years. This is the evolution of the franchise. There was a gap between real-time strategy and Age of Empires. There was a time when Age and the real-time-strategy genre was finished by Microsoft. The second part of that is when and what turned the situation around. Is this worth paying attention to again when you first heard about it?

This is a good thread to pull on. Age was more about how the community was playing and less about the genre. We saw a vibrant community of people playing the games that were still available to purchase. We weren't involved with the community as XBOX. The communities were left to fend for themselves a bit when we took our focus off of PC and focused more on consoles. As we evolved our gaming strategy, looking at players playing on any screen, we started to look at franchises where the communities were active and engaged with the game. Age was a franchise.

We had the chance to find a partner. We were able to meet the community where they were with their love of Age because of our partnership with Relic. I'd say the same thing about the announcements about Agecoming, just trying to show the community that we recognize their love of Age of Empires, what it means for so many people, and I'm proud that we can now kind of step up and do our part.

The franchise was created by Ensemble Studios. World's Edge is able to enjoy the celebration as well. I want to say to Tony, Bruce, and all the other people who created this franchise, that we're the ambassadors of this franchise going forward.