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Age of Empires 4 mod tools won’t be coming until next year

Mod support is coming for the highly anticipated RTS game, but it won't be this year...

We got a lot more information about Age of Empires IV during Microsoft’s E3 2021 presentation this week. Not only do we now have a release date, two more of the RTS game's eight launch civilizations were revealed. We also got a glimpse into the future, specifically on the subject of AOE4 mods.

According to the strategy game’s Steam page – which leaked over the weekend but finally went live after the conference – mod support won’t be coming until “early” next year. The full description entry reads: “Customise your game with mods – available in early 2022, play how you want with user generated content tools for custom games.”

So there you have it – you’ll have to wait a bit longer if you want to do some Age of Empires IV modding. There'll be plenty of other things to do in the meantime, though – four historical campaigns have been announced, which combined feature around three hours of documentary-style footage to set the scene.

Here is the new gameplay trailer that ran during the Xbox showcase:

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The two confirmed so far are the Norman campaign, which follows the exploits of William the Conqueror and his descendants, and a Hundred Years War campaign which covers the iconic century-long conflict between England and France.

The Steam page also hints at a Genghis Khan campaign as well, which could deal with famous descendants like Kublai Khan. There will also be PvP multiplayer, co-op, and you can even spectate with up to eight players in total.

Related: What you need to know about Age of Empire 4 civs

Age of Empires IV is due to release on PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store on October 28, 2021. Pre-orders are available now and it will also be coming to Game Pass for PC.