'Age of Empires: Definitive Edition' Release Date News: RTS Delayed Until Early 2018
Forgotten Empires has announced that the release schedule of its upcoming real-time strategy (RTS) game, "Age of Empires: Definitive Edition" (AoE), has been postponed.
In a blog, the game developer explained why the delay was necessary. Instead of the target October 19 release, as announced during the E3 2017 back in August, "AoE" is expected to be available in early 2018. Forgotten Empires said, though, that this was still not final. According to the statement, the process of restoring the classic game is taking a bit longer than anticipated. This is reportedly to ensure that the players will get the best "modernized" version of the RTS.
"The challenge of re-releasing a classic is just that: it's a classic and it deserves to be treated with careful reverence. At the same time, in a living, thriving genre, norms continually evolve, technology advances, and player expectations change. This is as true for RTS as for any other genre. So, the challenge is to recreate the experience not as it *actually* was but as we all remember it. How can we modernize the game while preserving the fun, discovery and magic of that first experience?" Forgotten Empires said.
The developer also announced that they would be hosting a closed beta before the date of the launch to conduct more an "in-depth testing" in the different aspects of the game, including its single-player campaign and multiplayer balance sessions. All the gamers in the community are encouraged to participate in the closed beta and leave feedbacks.
While waiting for "Age of Empires: Definitive Edition," PC World reminds players that the "Age of Empires II HD" is currently available on Steam. Microsoft also reportedly has plans to release the Definitive Editions of "Age of Empires II and III," while "Age of Empires IV" is currently under development by Relic, the developer of "Homeworld" and "Company of Heroes."