The continuing quest to bring Age of Empires to mobile

Age of Empires was originally launched for PC in 1997. Since then, the historical real-time strategy series has had multiple releases on platforms such as home consoles and mobile devices. With Age of Empires 4 pleasing fans on PC and Xbox, Microsoft is making another attempt to attract smartphone audiences with the upcoming Age of Empires Mobile.

Development for the title began in 2021, but it currently does not have a planned release schedule. It is currently co-developed by TiMi Studio in partnership with World's Edge, and Xbox Game Studios serves as its publisher.

Brayden Fan, studio general manager of the Age of Empires Mobile team at TiMi Studio, tells GamesIndustry.biz that the game was not necessarily pitched. Instead, the project came about after years of collaboration with the gaming firms.

"This is something we have been pushing for a long time, but we just needed to find the right opportunity"

"It is more the result of a long series of discussions. This is something we have been pushing for a long time, but we just needed to find the right opportunity," he explains.

This is the third time Microsoft has partnered with another developer to find a way to bring Age of Empires to smartphones. 2014's Age of Empires: Castle Siege, developed by Smoking Gun Interactive, was a tower defence title, while 2015's Age of Empires: World Domination, developed by KLab was a mix of city builder and real-time strategy battles that took place separately from your base.

Both titles have since shut down and Age of Empires Mobile aims to create a different type of experience for the series, one that plays to the franchise's strengths while still being accessible to a mobile audience.

The new Age of Empires title follows TiMi's track record of working on established mobile IPs. Its past projects include Pokémon Unite, Call of Duty Mobile, and Saint Seiya: Awakening.

He explains, "I worked on the development team for Pokémon Unite, which brought a competitive online multiplayer experience to the series for the first time. I'm familiar with the idea of bringing a new game to a series. Age of Empires Mobile is a new experience because we wanted to make a mobile game that fits the needs of the platform itself."

"There's always going to be technical challenges and constraints you must manage when balancing performance "

TiMi has years of development experience and a track record of commercially successful titles. However, working on a title for a 27-year-old franchise could be imposing on a game maker. When asked if there were any challenges of working on the IP, Fan says it was not difficult with the support of World's Edge.

Fan explains, "There's always going to be technical challenges and constraints you must manage when balancing performance and quality to make sure players can have the most fun possible on a mobile device.

"Age of Empires Mobile is not a small game by any means, with more than 1,000 troops regularly being on screen. We had to manage many technical challenges. That's why our team is data-oriented with our design."

Age of Empire titles have mostly been premium releases on PC and console. Players are tasked with developing their civilization during a campaign. Users must research technology, construct new buildings, and direct their civilian and military units as they gather resources and fend off foes.

Age of Empires Mobile will offer a similar gameplay experience, but it will follow the free-to-play business model. Fan says players will be able to speed up resource and hero progression with in-game purchases.

Over 100 people at TiMi are currently working on Age of Empires Mobile, all based in Shanghai, China. TiMi receives assistance from World's Edge as a co-development project, ensuring its work adheres to the Age of Empires brand.

Fan says, "Game design and gameplay are going to be collaborative efforts as both require one to ask, 'Will this work on mobile?' and 'How does this fit the Age of Empires franchise?'"

Regarding its target audience, he expects the title to draw in fans of the series and new players as well.

"One of the exciting things about making a game like this on mobile is that you're going to attract players who have never played an Age of Empires game, as well as the veterans who have been for 20-plus years," he explains.

"As a mobile game, we want to welcome new players to the franchise. But if existing players like mobile too, we hope they'll enjoy a different approach to the series."

Past Age of Empires titles focused on the real-time strategy elements and large-scale battles with hundreds of troops fighting simultaneously. While the mobile edition will also be in real-time, the gameplay trailer shows that the structure is likely to be different, with battles between smaller groups of units, bases that are a little more predesigned, a card-like hero summoning system, and an overworld map between players' settlements.

The franchise has been recognized for the challenges it provides players. Acknowledging this, Fan notes that the development team does not want to create an easy game but adds, "We do want it to feel easy to play on mobile."

"We think mobile development is a balance between the highest quality while maintaining optimal performance for the device. Every decision we make has to take that into account. If the game is fun and works well on your phone, you won't even notice."

The development team's expertise helped make Age of Empires Mobile, but it is still a learning process.

"Our team has worked on other strategy games for TiMi and definitely learned from those experiences. Mobile development is rapidly keeping pace with new technologies. So while we learn from our prior experience, we're also looking to the future and how to keep our games cutting edge," he says.

Age of Empire titles feature various civilizations that players can select in the campaign. In Age of Empires 4, players could use the Abbasid Dynasty, Mongols, and Mailans among ten other societies.

For the newest mobile entry, the development team used research to determine the most popular civilizations to use. Players can choose between the French, Byzantine, Roman, and Chinese civilizations as introductory campaigns for the game. After launch, more are planned to be included in the game.

"We wanted to go for a mix of heroes that are well-known to Age of Empires fans, as well as some that are new to the franchise"

This research also extended to the games' selection of historical figures that players can use. Among them is the queen of Sheba, which historians identify with the South Arabian kingdom of Saba, located in present-day countries Yemen and Ethiopia.

"We wanted to provide our players with a wide variety of heroes from a range of different civilizations and cultures. We wanted to go for a mix of heroes that are well-known to Age of Empires fans, as well as some that are new to the franchise."

Fan explains that during development, he and the team never wondered how much historical content was enough for a mobile title.

"We were never asking ourselves that question, but we did ask ourselves, 'Does this feel like an Age of Empires game?' And we believe we do have enough history to be seen as a new part of the franchise," he explains.

Regarding its playing audience, Fan says that accessibility options, such as a customizable user interface, are being assessed.

"We're definitely considering these things to make the game playable for as many people as possible. We'll adhere to accessibility standards that are already set out in the industry, and World's Edge is also aiding us in this effort," he explains.