Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, the remaster of the much-beloved PC strategy classic, has been delayed. Set to originally release on October 19th, it will now be coming in early 2018 according to an update by the development team.
“When we set out to re-release the original Age of Empires, we had many debates over the extent of restoration that we should undertake. The challenge of re-releasing a classic is just that: it’s a classic and it deserves to be treated with careful reverence.
“At the same time, in a living, thriving genre, norms continually evolve, technology advances, and player expectations change. This is as true for RTS as for any other genre. So, the challenge is to recreate the experience not as it *actually* was but as we all remember it. How can we modernize the game while preserving the fun, discovery and magic of that first experience?”
The closed beta for the game has actually been on-going since August with thousands providing feedback for various aspects. The developer noted that more players would be invited from now till launch to facilitate testing for the campaign, multiplayer balance and “fine-tuning the lobby.” Those interested in signing up for the beta can do so at this link.
It should also be noted that while the developer is targeting early 2018, it’s yet to pin down an actual release date. So better to wait patiently and try to get into the open beta. Along with Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, there will also be remasters for the second and third games. To top it off, Relic Entertainment of Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War fame is currently developing Age of Empires 4, which has no release date.
