How many games can boast an active tournament scene 17 years after the release of their final expansion?Īge of Empires II was, in its day, more thematically accessible than games like StarCraft or Command & Conquer.
That entire pool was a donation from a single fan who wanted to see the two top players duke it out.
In September, two elite players who arguably are the best in the game right now-DauT and TheViper-played a best-of-21 exhibition match for a $2000 prize pool, complete with casters for every game. It's still a living game, with an active competitive scene and tournaments. HD remasters are typically offered with a heavy dose of nostalgia for days gone by, but for Age of Empires II those days never fully ended. The first of these, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, was planned to come out this week but has been delayed by Microsoft Studios. In no small part thanks to the series' enduring community, Microsoft is reviving the Age of Empires franchise with both a new sequel from developer Relic- Age of Empires IV-and a series of 'remastered' Definitive Editions for Age of Empires I through III.
