Of all of Microsoft’s many sins towards gaming over the past 20 years, the one that rankles the most is the unexpected closure of Ensemble Studios, and the abrupt cancellation of the Age of Empire series. it made no sense- Age of Empires was one of the most critically acclaimed franchise of all time, and the games were standard bearers of the RTS genre. They also sold a lot, bringing in millions with each new entry.

Since 2008, when Ensemble were closed down, fans have requested a new, real Age of Empires 4 from Microsoft multiple times, but nothing has actually come of that. But speaking on Reddit in an AMA, Bill Gates responded to a fan’s question about a new Age of Empires, and the response was… encouragingly positive?

“I will look into this. How many empires do you need?” he said.

Now of course, this could be easily construed as a joke, but if it were, then Gates would have clarified it right away, especially since starved Age fans ran away with it for all it was worth. And hey, Age of Empires getting a new game makes sense for Microsoft- the series was massively successful, as has been said, and the recent HD re-release of Age of Empires 2 was also a runaway success for Microsoft.

Or maybe this is just me trying my best to create a version of the universe in which Age of Empires 4 would be real.