Age of Empires Online
Age of Empires Online is a multiplayer online real-time strategy game developed by Robot Entertainment and Gas Powered Games, which released on August 16, 2011. Based upon the gameplay of the Age of Empires series, it was originally developed by Robot Entertainment, but on February 24, 2011, Gas Powered Games, took over production. The game was published by Microsoft.
The game was free-to-play—it was free for users to play, though premium content could be earned or purchased, such as access to special items and blueprints, and more quests and features.
On March 27, 2012, the game premiered on Steam after a major overhaul patch which addressed complaints of an "MMO-like grind" and many other features, along with the debut of the Celtic civilization. On June 15, 2012 the premium content system was changed to offer the option to purchase all past and future content through "Empire points" earned in game, or by purchasing the points directly with real world money.
As of January 3, 2013, Microsoft ceased further development on the game. A Microsoft representative later announced on the forums that on August 22, 2013, the Games for Windows – Live Marketplace would be shut down, leaving the game only accessible by current or former players. In September 2013, it was announced that the game would remain functional until July 1, 2014 when the service would be shut down. The closure was due to the content being too expensive to maintain.
In 2017, Age of Empires Online was reestablished using Microsoft's publicly released developer-kit for the game and is now hosted on a server emulator known as "Project Celeste". The game can be played for free in single-player and multiplayer mode with all online features fully enabled. In May 2019, the team announced that they are developing Microsoft's unreleased Roman civilization for play based upon all known data of the civilization before the official servers were closed. It was finalized and released on March 14th, 2021
Source: IGDB
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Age of Empires Online content development halted
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Age of Empires Online: New Babylon pro civ detailed, launching this month
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Age of Empires Online is now completely free-to-play
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Age of Empires Online released on Steam
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Age of Empires Online trailer explains it in a nutshell
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Preview video for Celts expansion released for Age of Empires Online
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Age of Empires Online's Skirmish Hall Booster pack shown in latest video
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Age of Empires Online Season Pass announced
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Quick quotes - Chris Taylor hails F2P as PC gaming's future
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PSA: Age of Empires Online launches today
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Age of Empires Online dev diary features kit, puppets
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Age of Empires Online pricing revealed
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Age of Empires Online trailer preempts release
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GPG's Chris Taylor on freemium: "Absolutely it's the future"
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Age of Empires Online to see digital and disc release in the fall
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Get 48-hour "secret" access to Age of Empires Online beta
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Taylor: Age of Empires Online transition "a true pleasure"
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Quick Shots - Microsoft February Games Showcase
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Gas Powered Games shoulders Age of Empires Online development
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Age of Empires Online video spotlights the Egyptian faction
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Premium packs and social features announced for Age of Empires Online
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Age of Empires Online goes into closed beta
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Microsoft PC chief: Unannounced game aimed at GPU, CPU upgraders
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Age of Empires Online isn't a "nickel and dimey microtransaction thing"
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Age of Empires Online, Microsoft Flight join Fable III for MS gamescom PC push
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