Relic working on Age of Empires 4

Jump back to quoted post1 Sep 2017, 20:23 PMnee

I wonder just what restrictions Relic will be working under? If Microsoft is supervising the project, then that might mean they've either got the concepts worked out and the devs merely make it happen....or they get Duffy to do that.

Also, only in Windows Store? That's like developing Candy Crush 5 for android but only available in EA Origin.

*SNIP*
At Xbox, we support creating moments that connect gamers with their friends in new and innovative ways. In support of this, today, I am proud to announce that the historic RTS hit Rise of Nations: Extended Edition is coming to Windows Store on September 14th, with the unique cross-network play feature that enables fans to challenge up to eight players online with Windows 10, across Xbox Live and Steam. We want gamers to enjoy this classic Game of the Year-winning RTS through sharing multiplayer experiences with their friends, and it’s now a reality for Windows 10 gamers to join over two million Rise of Nations fans on Steam in mastering 6,000 years of history, from the Ancient Age to the Information Age.

For a limited time, Rise of Nations: Extended Edition will be available in Windows Store for only $4.99 USD. The regular price will be $19.99.
Read more at https://news.xbox.com/2017/08/18/rise-of-nations-extended-edition-windows-store/#uj4Fo83oPCK0SLV1.99

That's right, KI is coming to Steam later this year! Thanks to @CEOJebailey for helping us break the news. More details to follow.

On September 18, 2015, a new expansion was announced, Tale of the Dragon. It was co-developed by SkyBox Labs and Forgotten Empires, the latter having worked on new expansions for Age of Empires II. The expansion added a new culture, the Chinese, with the major gods Fuxi, Nüwa, and Shennong. The expansion also features a new campaign and multiplayer maps, as well as other features.[37] It was released on January 28, 2016.

Of course, company chief Satya Nadella later stipulated that games were key to Microsoft's "broader vision for Windows", and the company has since taken steps (from a Windows 10 'Game Mode' to the cross-platform Play Anywhere initiative) to improve the experience of people playing games across its platforms.

Xbox head Phil Spencer has received plenty of praise over the past few years for the way that the Xbox One has changed under his leadership. It's not just external parties who have taken notice. Microsoft just rewarded Spencer in a big way.

Spencer was just added to Microsoft's Senior Leadership Team, a 16-person group that's made up of executives and board of directors members. Apart from his increased influence over decisions, it's said that Spencer will now report directly to CEO Satya Nadella. Before, Spencer reported to Terry Myerson, who is the executive vice president of the Windows and Devices Group. The promotion also comes with a title bump from "head of Xbox" to "executive vice president of gaming."


While Xbox is still under the Windows and Devices Group banner, this change emphasizes Microsoft's video game-related efforts by giving a seat at the table to the head of gaming. It also underscores how the Xbox brand encompasses both console and Windows 10 now.

Studio Wildcard is the development company behind the game ARK: Survival Evolved. Studio Wildcard is a Seattle-based company that was founded in 2014 by Jesse Rapczak, who previously was a Technical Art Director at Microsoft Game Studios, and Jeremy Stieglitz, who was previously the creator of Dungeon Defenders.

While Microsoft is ready to embrace it but, Sony considers Cross-Platform Play a security risk for its console and PSN and Microsoft is quite critical of Sony’s logic behind not allowing it. According to Xbox head, Phil Spencer, the argument Sony is presenting is not healthy for the game industry. He added that user security is among Microsoft’s the top priorities.

Reinvesting in Age of Empires
Celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the Age of Empires franchise with the community at gamescom this year was epic. We announced Age of Empires IV there, which has long been on many fan wish lists. Add that we are partnering with Relic Entertainment, one of the best RTS developers in the world, and there is a lot to look forward to with the storied PC franchise. It’s just the beginning, as Age of Empires: Definitive Edition launches early next year, and Definitive Editions of Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III are planned in the future.

Gareth Edmondson joins Creative Assembly as COO - Formerly the managing director of Ubisoft Reflections and the CEO of Thumbstar, Edmondson will bring 20 years of industry experience to his new role as the COO of one of the UK's leading development studios. Edmondson replaces the outgoing COO Martin Servante, who has taken the role of Senior Vice President of Strategy, Business Planning & Development Services at Creative Assembly's parent company, Sega.

The other promotion sees Creative Assembly studio director Tim Heaton bumped up to executive vice president of studios. While he will continue to oversee the Total War studio, Heaton will also work with other studio directors within Sega Europe on best practices and studio collaborations.

When THQ went bankrupt and sold Relic to SEGA it was in a state of turmoil. The developer was deep into making Company of Heroes 2 and they had to ship this game in a matter of months. They were lacking a general manager to oversee the studio and this was causing problems across the studio.

SEGA asked one of their other studios, Creative Assembly, to help. Tim Heaton stepped up and began running both Creative Assembly in the UK and Relic over in Canada.

Writing in a post on Develop, Heaton says his first impression on visiting the Vancouver based studio was that “there was very little studio leadership.

Adam Isgreen, creative director for Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, suggested the recently
released game could arrive on Steam at some point in the future.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/age-of-empires-definitive-edition/aoe-definitive-edition-relevance-adam-isgreen-interview
*SNIP*
Is Age of Empires: Definitive Edition just a nostalgia trip, or do you think it has a place in the market today?

AI: I believe that any genre that exists for a long time eventually gets more and more complicated. You see that in FPS. Every genre is like ‘add more complication, add more layers, add more this or that’. I think that along the way, RTS split into many different genres: you’ve got everything from Farmville, which is like the base-building of an RTS, to Clash of Clans, which is like super-simplified RTS about input, to MOBA, which all about individual unit control. Those are all awesome vectors that RTS has gone off on.

But I don’t think we’re alone in saying that we think people still want the experience that a core, fundamental, ‘let’s build a base, let’s have a fight, let’s explore’ RTS can bring. We see that as games pop up from time to time. They Are Billions is an interesting example of a base-building/tower defence RTS that has been super successful. So I think there’s still a demand for those games.

Obviously, we’re putting our foot down and saying ‘we think RTS is relevant here at Microsoft’, because not have we got Age I Definitive Edition, but we’re also working on Age II and III, and of course we’re making a brand new Age game with Age of Empires IV, so we firmly believe that RTS has a place in the market. And I bet you that Blizzard is working on something similar, for whatever is going to happen next with Warcraft or StarCraft.

http://www.pcgamesinsider.biz/industry-icon/66694/how-and-why-microsoft-updated-age-of-empires-for-the-upcoming-definitive-edition/
*SNIP*
Age of Empires was a massive brand in the late 90s and early 00s, but these days it isn't the behemoth it once was. Is there a pressure for this game to do well, and help reintroduce the brand, ahead of Age of Empires 4's release?

Most certainly. Sometimes I don't think companies treat their IP with the respect that they deserve or they should. I've been really delighted that we've been given permission and support to go and make the Age of Empires games the way we want to make them and make them as good as they can be for the fans and support all the features that the fans would love. There's a pressure, though. We want Age of Empires 4 to be an amazing game and the team at Relic has been doing some amazing work on it. I'm very happy with how it's going now. The message we're sending with all of the Age of Empires games as we go through them and do these Definitive Editions is that we really care about this franchise and what makes an Age of Empires game an Age of Empires game. This is all part of not only showing how great these games were, but it is a build up to a new game. We have a lot of respect for this IP, so hopefully, when Age 4 comes out, people will say they've loved all three Definitive Editions and will jump in even though they don't know much about it. There are a lot of people who still play the Age games on a daily basis, a lot more than people realise. Maybe because it's not in the limelight of the press all the time. It's a big number.


At the moment, Age of Empires Definitive Edition is pencilled for launch on the Windows 10 Store but not Steam. Are you worried you might be limiting your PC audience by not bringing it to that marketplace?

Sure. I'm the one who makes the games; I don't worry too much about where they go. But of course, we want our games to be enjoyed by everybody. That's a natural tendency. Right now, because this is a UWP game, we want to make sure we offer the best experience that we can offer and UWP allows us to do all this stuff we want to do on the live side - multiplayer, cloud saves and so on. We really want to have all this in place and concentrate on this version before we think about what comes next. The Windows 10 Store is an alternative to Steam, obviously, and Steam is huge. But competition is a good thing. I can't promise where the game is or is not going to go in the future because that's not really up to me, but we want to have the best version of the game that we can make right now and then we'll figure out what we can do with it after that.

I talked with both Spencer and Booty in an interview, as both me explained what the changes will mean for Microsoft’s game business and all of the developers and executives reporting to them. Booty will be focused on making sure that the studios get the resources they need and work together to share knowledge across various development teams.

Un de mes précédents jeux était [le dernier] Killer Instinct. Mon rôle était déjà de faire en sorte qu’on ne perde pas de vue les sensations des épisodes originaux. Une partie de mon boulot est d’identifier et de disséquer ces sensations. Quand George Lucas a voulu refaire Star Wars, il a fait beaucoup de choses très bien, d’excellents effets spéciaux, un son parfait, et puis, soudain, il a décidé que Greedo devait tirer le premier. C’est le genre de trahison qu’il faut à tout prix éviter quand on « remake » une œuvre.

Jump back to quoted post28 Feb 2018, 22:51 PMValeran

He shares the same design philosophy that has Jason VanDenBerghe, current Guild Wars 2 Design Director at ArenaNet, and previously creative director on For Honor at Ubisoft

Jump back to quoted post4 Sep 2017, 16:36 PMRosbone

If AOE4 is released on Microsoft Store only, I will never buy it. Simple as that. MS has a long history of trying to dip their toes into an established sector and failing. And after they fail they just abandon it screwing their customers royally. I would fear some system of not being able to play it unless MS store servers are running which they wont be when MS pulls the plug.

Jump back to quoted post28 Mar 2018, 20:55 PMFelinewolfie

I agree. Same here. If it is released on Microsoft Store only, I will never buy it.
I SO remember Battlestation Midway and BattleStation Battlestations.

You can now buy those on Steam, but only play those on Microsoft Store/Whatever it's called.
ie: You can buy it, but not play it. Fckk you.

Jump back to quoted post13 Jun 2018, 18:11 PMKothre

Can't help but notice that AoE IV is a no-show at E3 this year. Is this game ever coming out? Geez.

Jump back to quoted post13 Jun 2018, 18:54 PMSturmpanther

Yeah i was wondering too.