The legendary Age of Empires franchise is about to take a major graphical and technological leap forward. which would be a very powerful foundation for the next chapter in the storied real-time strategy series — now there’s compelling evidence to suggest it is the real-time strategy series. The information, however, was revealed from several job postings and developers profiles, leading to a possible more immersive and spectacular clash of civilizations in future.
The news comes from a job ad for a “Principal Unreal Engineer” at World’s Edge, the Microsoft studio that manages the Age of Empires franchise. According to the listing, not only does Relic want to find an engineer to assist them in creating the “future tech stack” for the beloved RTS franchise, but they’re seeking someone with “all aspects of Unreal Engine game development background.” That is the most definitive statement from the studio yet that is leaving its proprietary engines behind to adopt one of the most cutting-edge game development platforms on the planet today.
Reinforcing this turn, internet sleuths discovered the LinkedIn of a World’s Edge Principal Build Lead Engineer: it states the person in question has been working on a triple-A pipeline for “unannounced titles in Unreal Engine 5.” And the use of the term “titles” is especially tantalizing, indicating that more than one project could be reaping the rewards of this new technical foundation. It’s also a big pivot away from the engines used to create the recent Definitive Edition remasters, and Age of Empires IV.
So what does that mean for the future of Age of Empires? Arguably the most immediate candidate to have an Unreal Engine 5 built game was Age of Empires V, as the success of Age of Empires IV also showed that a large audience is still eager for a new mainline entry. Unreal Engine 5-powered sequel would let the developers massively scale up the series, with expansive beautiful battlefields, jaw-dropping lighting, and units armies unthinkably large scale destroyable environments. Unreal Engine 5 is the only engine that has the potential to tackle these.
Integrating Unreal Engine 5 also brings into question the partnerships on the development side. Age of Empires IV was developed by the industry veterans at Relic Entertainment. Perhaps you’re now contemplating with us whether our Tech Team @ Worlds Edge is about to get big enough for a new build with some familiar friends (wonder what Relic’s up to 😉) to help bring such vision of this new hotness to life? Whoever becomes their partner, the intention is to use Unreal Engine 5 to help shape the next generation of RTS.
The transition to UE5 isn’t just an engine swap however—it’s a signal of intent. With this investment in the future of Age of Empires, Microsoft and World’s Edge are certainly not just going to be churning out sequels and are looking to the future to ensure that the next game isn’t just an entry, but a step forward in the series. With the cutting-edge Nanite virtualized geometry and Lumen global illumination systems of Unreal Engine 5, the human eras of Age of Empires should never feel so alive or real. Reconstructing the legacy of Age of Empires, and its based on Unreal Engine 5.
