Age of Empires fans could be in for a treat this week as the franchise’s official Twitter page has shared an image that appears to be hinting at an Age of Empires III Definitive Edition reveal at this week’s Gamescom.
The image in question features the icons for the Grenadier, Cavalry Archer, Musketeer, House, Settler, Culverin, Outpost, and a second Musketeer. Eagle-eyed fans have noticed that if you take the hotkeys for each of these units in Age of Empires III and then arrange them in the sequence featured in the tweet spells out the word GAMESCOM. Microsoft had originally announced that there would be an Age of Empires III Definitive Edition back at Gamescom 2017.
— AgeOfEmpires (@AgeOfEmpires) August 21, 2020
In January 2020, Microsoft announced a closed Beta would begin in early February of the same year; the first session began on February 11th, 2020, and ended on February 19th with the second session beginning on March 31st and ending April 7th.
Originally releasing in 2005 Age of Empires III saw the game take place during the European colonisation of the Americas and launched with eight civilisations; including but not limited to the British, the French, the Dutch, and the Ottoman Empire. The game also featured a Home City system, which allowed players to unlock additional units and upgrades for their civilisation. Soon two expansion packs followed in 2006 and 2007; Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs and Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, respectively. Age of Empires III was the first game in the mainline series to move the game into 3D; the first in the franchise as a whole was 2002’s Age of Mythology.
Are you excited at the possibility of an Age of Empires III Definitive Edition reveal this week? Are there any other Gamescom announcements you are looking forwards to? Let us know in the comments below!
