Age of Empires celebrates its 25th birthday with a live stream announcing that Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires 4 will be released on Xbox in 2023 The PC version will offer additional perks to the console versions. The PC version of the game will be released on Xbox in 2023.

Both games will support cloud gaming and, more excitingly, will support controllers, allowing cross-play with console friends. Navigating a complex RTS with a controller will not be easy, and in a post on Xbox News Wire (opens in new tab), Emma Bridle, director of customer voice for World's Edge, said that developers "had to be careful and thoughtful She admits that it was a "massive undertaking" that "had to be done carefully and thoughtfully.

Bridle added that a new controller-specific tutorial will be added to the games "paired with a new user experience for consoles" to help those who prefer pads over keyboards and mice. On top of that, both games will feature "new game AI to help make resource management in strategy games more efficient and intuitive."

I always like to see more complex control systems boiled down to a simpler, more streamlined form, and I'm sure World's Edge has done a great job of making RTS playable and fun with a controller, and with fellow strategy geeks on Xbox. Combined with the ability to play, the overall experience is pretty good value; Xbox players will also be able to connect a keyboard and mouse to play, but having more options for various comforts is never a bad thing.

The additional features will also be available for PC at the same time each game is released on their respective consoles, with Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition scheduled for January 31, 2023, and Age of Empires 4 later that year. This was not the only fun AoE news on the live stream. A definitive edition of the very popular spin-off (opens in new tab) will also be released in the near future. Neat!