The award-winning strategy game, which received an overall score of 81 on Metacritic, is now available on Xbox Game Pass less than two years after its release.

Console ports of Age of Empires 4 are now available on Xbox Game Pass. Relic Entertainment’s critically acclaimed RTS was originally PC-exclusive. A year after its debut in late 2021, Microsoft has confirmed that the game will be coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. However, without committing to a specific release date for console ports.

The gaming giant used the latest iteration of Gamescom to reveal the console version of Age of Empires 4, which is now available through Xbox Game Pass!

Microsoft subscribers can now access the Anniversary Edition of the successful real-time strategy. This includes several notable improvements over the base game, including more achievements, eight additional maps, some extra biomes, and two new civilizations, the Malians and Ottomans.

One of the significant differences between the console and PC versions of Age of Empires 4 is that the Xbox ports include a thorough tutorial system. This is designed to introduce players to the new gamepad control system. The last two generations of Microsoft consoles also support PC peripherals. However, whether the Xbox versions of RTS can be played with a keyboard and mouse combo is unclear. Apart from that, the Xbox ports of Age of Empires 4 appear identical to the original PC.

As for the game itself, the 16-year wait between the last two numbered instalments of the iconic franchise seems to have been worth it, as evidenced by the fact that Age of Empires 4 was met with almost universal critical acclaim and fanfare following its release in 2021.

The game’s PC version currently boasts an overall score of 81 on Metacritic. In addition, it has “very positive” user reviews on Steam, based on over 40,000 player reviews. Age of Empires 4 also claimed the award for Best Sim/Strategy Game at The Game Awards 2021.

Age of Empires 4 is not the only critically acclaimed strategy game that Microsoft added to its subscription service on 22 August. A few hours ago, Xbox Game Pass received another such surprise addition in the form of Sega’s turn-based 4X game Humankind. Like Age of Empires 4, Humankind has spent the last two years as a PC exclusive before coming to Xbox consoles.

Source: X

It's the Age of Age of Empires on console 🏰

Play Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition with @XboxGamePass: https://t.co/RWIYm8QLfH | #Xboxgamescom pic.twitter.com/7EhD46opGY

— Xbox (@Xbox) August 22, 2023