Age of Empires 4 ranked play is getting a bunch of hotly requested features for Season Two

What you need to know

• The first ranked Age of Empires 4 season, Festival of Ages, is set to conclude on June 30.
• The Age 4 team shared some new details about ranked Season Two, including a new map preference system, player color selector, and fully remappable keybinds and inputs.
• The Age 4 team also gave us a bit of information about ranked Season Three, including a new team ranked mode, taunts, and cheats.
• Ranked Season Two is expected to begin July 2022. Ranked Season Three is expected October or November 2022.

The first Age of Empires 4 ranked season, Festival of Ages, is set to wrap up on June 30. More than 42,000 players battled it out over the course of the season, with the Age 4 team collecting feedback and planning for the Season Two. 

While we got our first look at the Age 4 roadmap in March, the team has now confirmed in an Xbox Wire post that a bunch of improvements are on their way for the July launch of Season Two. You've likely already seen these if you're a part of the Age 4 Public Update Preview (PUP), but for everyone else this is new territory.

First and foremost, there's now a player color picker that lets you choose your unit color ahead of a match. This should remove a lot of frustration for players who are used to playing with a specific color.

Next up are fully remappable hotkeys. While you have been able to change some keys, you'll now be able to set things up exactly how you want. The team has also worked on changes to how key conflicts work, as well as how the remapping menus are organized.

The final major change coming to Age 4 in Season Two is a new map preference system. This should help alleviate some of the frustration felt by players who have been stuck into the same map on end.

There's also a new map being introduced with Season Two. "The Pit" is an open map with a focus on competitive play. The Age 4 team has stated that they will have more information to share about unit balance changes, rewards, and themes in the coming weeks. Season Two is expected to go live in July.

Season Three is already being planned out, and it's looking like the team is planning to add team ranked play, taunts, and cheats. There will be more information available as Season Two begins to wind down. Season Three is expected to launch in October or November 2022 following the completion of Season Two.

Be sure to have a look at some of the best PCs for Age of Empires 4 if you'd like to get set up for the next season of ranked play.