Gas Powered Games has announced that their free-to-play Age of Empires Online will be transitioning to true free-to-play; that is, all content, premium and otherwise, will be free. Players will still be able to purchase premium content, but as a shortcut, rather than as a requirement.
Gas Powered Games has revealed it is set to launch new content for Age of Empires Online this month.
According to German website GamersGlobal, BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk may have exited the company he started alongside Ray Muzyka back in 1995. He quit as GM back in May this year. Former Major League Gaming CEO Matthew Bromberg took over as the General Manager of BioWare Austin. Apparently Austin devs "fear" they'll be rebranded 'EA Austin'.
A new faction has come to the free-to-play RTS Age of Empires Online, and they come from the northern reaches of Scandinavia: the Norse civilization.
Age of Empires II fans can rejoice as the unofficial expansion Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires is now available. Age of Empires II: The Conquerors is required to play the expansion.
Microsoft's free-to-play real-time strategy game Age of Empires Online won't be getting any new content anymore, as that has become too expensive for the developer, Gas Powered Games.
Gas Powered Games is currently funding its next game, Wildman, on Kickstarter, and it seems the studio really needs the money, as founder Chris Taylor has confirmed earlier reports this evening that the developer laid off a "significant" portion of its staff, roughly 40 employees.
The classic RTS game by Ensemble Studios is returning with an HD remake courtesy of Hidden Path Entertainment, as Age of Empires II HD is hitting Steam on the 9th April.
Valve has announced the top 10 best-selling games on Steam, and the leader is the alpha build of ArmA III, followed by preorders for BioShock Infinite. The 10th best-selling game is the complete edition of ArmA II.
BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk doesn't hold much hope in the next generation of platforms as catalysts for revival. Unlike Microsoft and Sony "pull something magically out of a hat," it's the same old tricks. The trouble is that the new market emerging is "not really that great" - only some are making a ton of money, but most don't see revenues like from the console business. Need something innovative.
Age of Empires II HD Edition had been having issues with glitches on high-end machines, especially regarding the frame rate; a patch is being worked on that aims at fixing them.
Hidden Path Entertainment has just released The Forgotten expansion for Age of Empires 2 HD, which adds five new civilizations to the real-time strategy. It's available through Steam for $9.99. Italians, Indians, Slavs, Magyars and Incas are all gearing up for war. There are also four new campaigns to choose from, as well as new modes, techs and Twitch.tv streaming.
Dragon Age: Inquisition lead writer David Gaider has discussed the topic of romance in BioWare's RPGs, and how some would be happy if they "just abandoned the effort altogether," but it's tricky. There are those who enjoy BioWare's tales as much as they do because of romance options, but the team often feels the pressure and always ask 'should we bother?'
There are doings afoot over at Microsoft's Redmond campus as they want a senior games developer to join their team who are working on "an established and well-loved" strategy franchise. It's a AAA project. No Windows Phone exclusive nonsense presumably, and PC might be getting some Microsoft love after all. Age of Empires is Microsoft's strategy flagship series.
Stardock has joined forces with a bunch of Age of Empires vets over at developer BonusXP to publish an as yet unannounced strategy game. It being unannounced and all, we've no idea what form the new game will take. We do know that it's going to be utilising Stardock's 'Project Tachyon' initiative.
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