That’s the short version of a long story, but the point is that people have always been happy to play AoE2 as long as it’s accessible. AoE2:DE included a graphical overhaul, new tutorials to ease players into 20 years of strategic subtleties, and quality of life improvements, and today AoE2 hovers around #35 on the list of Steam’s most played games. Still, there was demand for a 2019 Definitive Edition and another expansion in 2021. The accessibility of Steam attracted enough new and returning players to justify several more expansions, although the game remained obscure enough that 2018’s first Hidden Cup attracted only 6,000 viewers and a $1,443 pot. A team of modders eventually created a fan expansion, and their work became official when Microsoft recruited them to work on a 2013 HD re-release.

There was no particular reason to suspect that AoE2’s competitive scene would survive the ravages of time any better than its contemporaries, like the multiple Command & Conquer games that enjoyed similar critical and commercial success.īut after official servers went down, a fan named scripter16 created a patch that added new features to the game and squashed lingering bugs, and a small community used a platform called Voobly for multiplayer. How is it that a game from 1999 has enjoyed such a resurgence? Saved by the FansĪoE2 released to strong sales and reviews but, after a 2002 mythological spinoff and a divisive third installment in 2005, developer Ensemble Studios moved on to Halo Wars before folding. It’s the largest AoE2 tournament since last year’s Hidden Cup 3, which peaked at 57,922 viewers, but the biggest prize pool before that dates back to 2002. From March 18 th to 21 st, 16 Age of Empires 2 players will compete for Hidden Cup 4’s nearly $68,000 prize pool.

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