What you need to know
- Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend DLC released today, Nov. 14, 2023, for PC and Xbox.
- To celebrate the DLC's launch, Xbox Game Studios released a brand-new trailer that quickly highlights the new civs and campaign brought by the expansion.
- You must have the base game and purchase the DLC in order to access this new content or have a current Xbox Game Pass subscription.
Today, the popular Age of Empires IV RTS game has finally received the highly anticipated The Sultans Ascend expansion for PC and Xbox. To celebrate the launch of this expansion, Xbox Game Studios released a brand new launch trailer that quickly highlights the add-on's new eight-mission campaign, two new civilizations (civs), and four alternative civs.
You can view the trailer, embedded below.
It has been roughly two years since the base Age of Empires IV game came to PC and roughly three months since it came to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. In total, there are two completely brand new civs in The Sultans Ascend expansion along with four variants of existing civs. The new ones are the Japanese, which feature a new Daimyo system that can result in Shogunate Castles in later ages, and the Byzantines, who can eventually cause damage on land and sea with Greek Fire.
Meanwhile, the four variants of existing civs include Order of the Dragon, Ayyubids, Zhu Xi's Legacy, and Jeanne d'Arc. Additionally, The Sultans Ascend expansion also includes 10 new maps, two new biomes, and new rewards to unlock as you play.
You must have the base Age of Empires IV game to purchase and play the expansion. Alternatively, those with Xbox Game Pass will be able to experience The Sultans Ascend DLC with their subscription. The Sultans Ascend is $14.99 and can be purchased for PC at Steam or for Xbox at Microsoft.
Windows Central's take
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As you can see from my Age of Empires IV for Xbox review, this entry in the series makes for a fantastic strategy game that builds upon the foundation of the classic Age of Empires titles. Something I really love about the Xbox version is that it adds wheel menus and a Villager Priority System (VPS), which keeps the strategic fun while also making it easier to play this game on console with a controller. Although, you can also plug in a mouse and keyboard to your Xbox Series X|S and play the game that way if you want.
The base game is filled with fun campaigns and a variety of civilizations, but being able change things up with additional civilization options and campaign missions helps keep things fresh. If you've ever played an Age of Empire game then you know how unique each civilization can be. It can take a lot of time to master each one and know what strategies to employ against other players. So if you're the kind of person who likes that kind of thinking you should definitely check out The Sultan's Ascend expansion.
