Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition

Historical real-time strategy built around distinct civilizations and large battles

World's Edge, Relic Entertainment, Forgotten Empires, Climax Studios · Published by Xbox Game Studios · Released Oct 28, 2021

Strategy

Reviews: Very Positive; 86% of 96K
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 81% of 392 in 30 days
Playing now: 6,347; right now
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: 2 months ago; Jul 2, 2026

Metacritic: 81/100 (critic reviews)

What is Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition?

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition is a historical real-time strategy game spanning the Dark Ages through the Renaissance. You build cities, manage resources, and command land and naval armies across four campaigns, skirmishes, and competitive or cooperative multiplayer matches.

For you if...

+you enjoy balancing base building, resources, and real-time warfare
+you want historical campaigns with documentary-style storytelling
+you prefer civilizations with distinct mechanics and playstyles

Not for you if...

−you need tactical pause or a slower casual speed
−you dislike managing an economy and army at once

What players say

86% of 95,746 reviews are positive · 81% of 392 in the last 30 days

Players praise the civilizations’ distinct mechanics, strategic depth, and historical campaigns. Common complaints include cheating in multiplayer, uneven AI behavior, and the lack of tactical pause. Recent handheld players also object to an update that limits their multiplayer sessions to smaller maps and fewer participants.

Screenshots and trailer

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 10 64bit | Windows 11 64bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-6300U or AMD Ryzen 5 2400G | CPU with AVX support required
Graphics: Intel HD 520 or AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 50 GB available space
DirectX: Version 12

OS: Windows 10 64bit | Windows 11 64bit
Processor: 3.6 GHz 6-core (Intel i5) or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 | CPU with AVX support required
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 970 GPU or AMD Radeon RX 570 GPU with 4GB of VRAM
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Storage: 50 GB available space
DirectX: Version 12
Notes: 4 GB of video RAM and 16 GB of system RAM

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 175
Steam features: Family Sharing

Steam Deck: Playable

Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
First time setup requires active internet connection

Multiplayer and co-op

Languages

Full audio: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Spanish - Latin America. Text only: Japanese, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Swedish, Hindi, Malay.