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Age of Empires 2 and 3 are both getting definitive editions

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As an addendum to the evening’s exciting news that Age of Empires IV is finally happening, Microsoft also announced definitive editions for Age of Empires II and III.

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This follows the announcement of a definitive edition for the original Age of Empires at E3 this year. A thorough polish is promised for that game, with a fully remastered orchestral score, new 4K textures, rebalanced gameplay for multiplayer through Xbox live, and much more. Expect Age of Empires II and III to get similar treatment.

We’re also guessing that they’ll both come exclusively to the Microsoft store, since that appears to be the case so far with the Age of Empires I remaster. Age of Empires II has been enjoying a new lease of life on Steam since getting its HD edition, and Microsoft probably decided they fancy having all those players on their own platform.

It’s a safe bet that the definitive edition will get all the new Age of Empires II DLC (it’d hardly be definitive without it), but a big part of Age of Empires II HD’s appeal is its Steam Workshop integration, and all the cool mods it enables the community to make and share with minimal fuss. The Microsoft store can’t yet offer the same.

Still, Age of Empires IV, eh? Veryexciting.