Age of Empires IV – Update 16.1.9737 and Yue Fei’s Legacy DLC Release Preview

Big changes are right around the corner! In addition to Age of Empires IV: Yue Fei’s Legacy officially shipping and bringing the Jin Dynasty and a new 8-mission campaign with it on May 7th, we will also roll out some great quality of life features as well as balance changes, AI improvements, stability fixes, and more.

With this update, we’re also introducing even more changes to the way Ranked Seasons and Events are managed to allow for more predictability in the future.

Read on to learn more before jumping in game!

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

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Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed.

◆Update 16.1.9737◆

Season Thirteen

Ranked Season and Events Update

Ranked Season and Events Update

Back at the start of Season Twelve, we mentioned we’d be unlocking seasonal content (biomes, maps and modes) across the board to allow them to be enjoyed more while also starting an event rotation to ensure there are plenty of chances to earn a specific profile portrait or banner item.

With this season, all previously available seasonal game modes, biomes and maps are now available at any time in custom games – note that we have removed these options from Quick Match to allow for more effective matchmaking. And starting this season, we’re also rolling out a comprehensive calendar for Ranked Season and Event rotations. In the past, Ranked Seasons have generally been tied to an update; however, to enable more predictable ranked seasons in the future, we’re switching away from this format.

Moving forward, there will be four three-month seasons per year, all accompanied by a variety of event challenges. While we’re kicking off this year’s Summer Season early on May 7th, in the future, all ranked seasons will start on the first day of a month at 10 a.m. PT and end three months later on the last day of the month at 10 a.m. PT.

Ranked Season Calendar

Spring Season: 1st March → last day of May Summer Season: 1st June → last day of August Fall Season: 1st September → last day of November Winter Season: 1st December → last day of February

Event Calendar

Map Pool Rotation

We’re excited to share a new Ranked Map Pool rotation, featuring a fresh mix of maps and a new sheep spawn distribution. This update adds new maps to the pool alongside returning favorites. We’re looking forward to seeing how these additions and balance changes shape the ranked ladder.

1v1 Ranked Map Pool

• Dry Arabia

• Sunkenlands

• Rocky River

• King of the Hill

• Archipelago

• Waterholes

• Relic River

• Wasteland

• Hill and Dale

Team Ranked Map Pool

• Dry Arabia

• Rocky River

• Sunkenlands

• Forts

• Archipelago

• African Waters

• Gorge

• West Lake

• Hedgemaze

New Map Spotlight - Coming with Yue Fei's Legacy DLC

We’re thrilled to be releasing four new maps alongside Yue Fei’s