The closed beta for Age of Empires 4 has been surprisingly announced – and it’s starting as early as the beginning of August! Here’s all the info.
Well, somebody fry us a war elephant! Out of nowhere, Microsoft and Relic announce a closed beta for Age of Empires 4. And it will start very, very – and we emphasise this – very soon. In our overview you can find all the information about the start date, content and most importantly: how you can participate.
Start date: When will the closed beta of Age 4 start?
The closed beta of Age of Empires 4 opens its doors on 5 August 2021. So that might just be enough time to submit holiday requests. But don’t worry: at least you’ll have a little time until it all ends again.
When does the Closed Beta end?
On 16 August 2021 the fun will be over again. So you have around 11 days to get to grips with all the mechanics, try out the multiplayer and commit the shortcuts to memory.
Show a trailer
There is currently a lot of discussion about the graphics of Age of Empires 4. Some fans think it is not high quality enough, others are completely satisfied. Here you can make up your own mind:
Content: What’s in the beta of Age 4?
For a first closed beta, the Age 4 playthrough is pretty packed with content. You can try out the first campaign mission, jump into skirmish matches against the AI or challenge real humans. Of the eight races, four are already playable! Let’s break it down.
– Campaign Mission: You get the prologue mission of the Age 4 campaign to learn the basics of the game. So settlement management, training of new units, raw material clobbering and first battles.
– Skirmish: The Skirmish mode gives you the possibility to play against the AI or against real opponents.
– Multiple Maps: The closed beta contains a “small” portion of the launch ensemble of playable maps. According to the developers, these will be a cross-section of several biomes – so you won’t just get European forests as a scenario.
– Spectator Mode: If the host allows it, you can look into the running game of other beta participants.
The playable races are:
– Mongols
– Delhi Sultanate
– British
– Chinese Empire
How do I participate in the beta?
The closed beta is aimed exclusively at so-called Age Insiders, i.e. participants in a special beta programme for which you can register. But beware: this period ends soon! Very soon. You have to register on the Age-Insider page by Wednesday, 4 August at 2 am.
However, this does not automatically give you access to the Closed Beta, but simply throws your hat into the ring and increases your chances. Once you have registered, you will need to follow a few more steps:
– Upload your DXDiag and link it to your Age Insider profile to make sure your system is ready for Age 4. Without this step, you will be kicked out of the participation pool
– Verify your email address: You know the game from all sorts of services. Verify your mail.
– For Steam fans: If you want to participate in the beta via Steam, you need to link your Steam account to the Insider profile and select Steam in the beta tab at “Beta Preferences”.
So remember, there’s not much time left to register for the Closed Beta. If you’re unlucky, there might be an open beta at a later date. And it won’t be forever before the final release. The game is scheduled to be released by the end of 2021 – in four months at the most. Until then, you can try out one of the best strategy games of all time. Or read a book about the Middle Ages.
