So we have some good news and some bad news about multiplayer RTS Age of Empires 3. Let’s do the bad news first: It’s sunsetting, or at least part of it is sunsetting, 19 years after its original launch. That basically means the end of online functionality for the classic version of the game. Microsoft blamed it specifically on a lack of support for unnamed “technology.”
“From today, Age of Empires III (2007) will no longer be available for purchase,” Microsoft announced on Steam this week. “After many years of support, we will be retiring the title from sale.”
“In addition, on October 30, 2024 at 10am PT multiplayer services for the game will cease to run. This is due to the technology no longer being supported. If you own the game, you will still be able to play campaign and skirmish content. Online multiplayer is the only area of the game that will no longer be available.” (Note: The game actually launched in 2005, not 2007.)
The good news is that Xbox is still developing and supporting Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, assuming you want to buy it again and pick up where you left off. And of course, the Age of Empires franchise is still chugging along; AOE2 and AOE4 are also both still online, and we just covered the impending launch of Age of Empires Mobile, slated for October 17th. The Xbox store has so many Age of Empires versions for sale that I’m not even going to try to count them.
And hey, if you have a hankering for the long-lost Age of Empires Online, the player-run emulator Project Celeste is still alive and well, with a new Indian civilization planned for launch October 26th.
