Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
This page is for the Definitive Edition. For the original game, see Age of Empires III (2005).
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| Developers | |
|---|---|
| Forgotten Empires | |
| Tantalus Media | |
| World's Edge | |
| Publishers | |
| Xbox Game Studios | |
| Engines | |
| BANG! | |
| Release dates | |
| Windows | October 15, 2020 |
| Reception | |
| Metacritic | 75 |
| OpenCritic | 79 |
| IGDB | 81 |
| Taxonomy | |
| Monetization | Free-to-play, One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, Subscription gaming service |
| Microtransactions | Cosmetic |
| Modes | Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
| Pacing | Real-time |
| Perspectives | Bird's-eye view |
| Controls | Multiple select, Point and select |
| Genres | RTS |
| Themes | Africa, Asia, North America, South America |
| Series | Age of Empires |
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Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is an updated version of the 2005 colonial age RTS Age of Empires III and its The War Chiefs and The Asian Dynasties expansion packs. It features completely redone graphics, improved controls, an updated multiplayer lobby, an in-built mod repository, an Art of War mode which teaches new players gameplay intricacies, and new content in the form of new campaigns, single missions, and civilizations. The Native American civilizations were renamed and given new voiceovers, the latter being redone after release due to poor deliveries and sound mixing.
The game has received multiple expansions with new civilizations and campaigns (see Monetization), as well as skin packs for existing units. After a launch plagued with bugs, performance issues and audio mixing (primarily choppy music playback caused by an encoding error), the game was gradually tweaked to a state which allowed it to replace the original version for most of the community. The balancing was based on the ESOCommunity patch for the original version of The Asian Dynasties.
As of August 2, 2023, the main Steam store page has the base game set to a limited free-to-play model with the following limitations: access to only three of the 16 nations which periodically rotates, access to the first act of the original game's campaign, and unranked multiplayer access in the same infrastructure as other players. The full game content is now a separate purchase.[1]
Periodic seasonal events, usually enabled with major patch releases, allow the unlocking of player profile images and official cosmetic mods.
As of August 2023, multiplayer events are constantly organized, and updates are still being made to resolve bugs and imbalances, as well as occasionally introducing new map templates.
General information
- Official Discord server for the series
- Official forum
- Official support knowledgebase
- Steam Community Discussions
- ESOCommunity home to the competitive multiplayer community
- Age of Empires on Liquipedia
Availability
| Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Green Man Gaming | |
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| Humble Store | |
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| Microsoft Store | |
Xbox Game Pass for PC Arxan Anti-Tamper DRM |
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| Steam | |
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Monetization
| Type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Expansion pack | The expansion packs include new civilizations, units and campaigns. Players can play in multiplayer regardless of whether all of them have any or all DLC. |
| Free-to-play | As of August 2, 2023, limited parts of the game are accessible for free.[1] |
| One-time game purchase | The full game requires an upfront purchase to access. |
| Subscription gaming service | Available via Xbox Game Pass for PC. |
Microtransactions
| Type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Cosmetic | Skins for units. |
DLC and expansion packs
| Name | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| United States Civilization | Was available for a limited time for free for players who completed a 50-stage challenge in the base game around the release date. | |
| The African Royals | |
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| Mexico Civilization | |
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| Knights of the Mediterranean | |
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| Hero Cosmetic Pack - Lizzie | Free skin. | |
| Hero Cosmetic Pack - Kunoichi | Skin. | |
| Hero Cosmetic Pack Vol. 1 | Skin pack. | |
| Soundtrack | |
Essential improvements
Skip intro videos
| Use command line argument[2] |
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Game data
Configuration file(s) location
| System | Location |
|---|---|
| Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Games\Age of Empires 3 DE\Common |
| Microsoft Store | %USERPROFILE%\Games\Age of Empires 3 DE\Common |
| Steam Play (Linux) | <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/933110/pfx/[Note 1] |
Save game data location
| System | Location |
|---|---|
| Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Games\Age of Empires 3 DE\16 digit number\Savegame |
| Microsoft Store | %USERPROFILE%\Games\Age of Empires 3 DE\16 digit number\Savegame |
| Steam Play (Linux) | <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/933110/pfx/[Note 1] |
Save game cloud syncing
| System | Native | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Steam Cloud | ||
| Xbox Cloud |
Video
| Graphics feature | State | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Widescreen resolution | |||
| Multi-monitor | |||
| Ultra-widescreen | Hor+ gameplay.[3] | ||
| 4K Ultra HD | |||
| Field of view (FOV) | |||
| Windowed | |||
| Borderless fullscreen windowed | [4] | ||
| Anisotropic filtering (AF) | |||
| Anti-aliasing (AA) | SMAA, TAA | ||
| Vertical sync (Vsync) | |||
| 60 FPS and 120+ FPS | Frame limiter supports a maximum of 144 FPS. | ||
| High dynamic range display (HDR) | See the glossary page for potential alternatives. | ||
| Color blind mode | While there is no dedicated color scheme for color blind players, key UI colors (e.g. teams) can be manually changed with full HSV (hue, saturation, value) control | ||
Graphics settings (1/2)
Graphics settings (2/2)
UI settings (1/4)
UI settings (2/4)
UI settings (3/4)
UI settings (4/4)
Accessibility settings (1/2)
Accessibility settings (2/2)
Input
| Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Remapping | ||
| Mouse acceleration | ||
| Mouse sensitivity | ||
| Mouse input in menus | ||
| Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
| Controller | ||
| Controller support |
Audio
| Audio feature | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Separate volume controls | Sound, ambient sound, taunts and AI chats, music. | |
| Surround sound | ||
| Subtitles | ||
| Closed captions | ||
| Mute on focus lost | ||
| Royalty free audio |
Localizations
| Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Simplified Chinese | ||||
| Traditional Chinese | ||||
| French | ||||
| German | ||||
| Italian | ||||
| Japanese | ||||
| Korean | ||||
| Polish | Fan translation based on the 2007 retail localization, download. | |||
| Brazilian Portuguese | ||||
| Russian | ||||
| Spanish | ||||
| Turkish | ||||
| Vietnamese |
Network
Multiplayer types
| Type | Native | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local play | |||
| LAN play | Requires a connection to the master server for all LAN play. | ||
| Online play | Supports cross-platform multiplayer | ||
Connection types
| Type | Native | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Matchmaking | ||
| Dedicated | ||
| Self-hosting | ||
| Direct IP |
Other information
API
| Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Direct3D | 11 |
| Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows |
Middleware
| Middleware | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Cutscenes | Bink 2 Video | |
| Multiplayer | Relic BattleServer |
System requirements
| Windows | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Recommended | |
| Operating system (OS) | 10 (v18362.0 or higher) | |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Core i3-2105 AMD Phenom II X4 973 |
Intel Core i5-3300 AMD FX-8350 |
| System memory (RAM) | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) | 42 GB | |
| Video card (GPU) | Nvidia GeForce GT 430 AMD Radeon HD 5570 Intel HD Graphics 4400 2 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible | Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 AMD Radeon R9 Fury 4 GB of VRAM |
- A 64-bit operating system is required.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in
~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/933110/in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (933110) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is Launching a New, Easier Way to Jump In and Play! - Age of Empires - last accessed on 2023-08-03
- ↑ Steam Community :: Guides :: Automatically skip intro videos - last accessed on 2022-08-18
- ↑ Age of Empires 3 Definitive Edition Ultrawide Review - 16:9/21:9/32:9 Comparison & Gameplay! - last accessed on 2020-10-22
- ↑ Verified by User:Rose on 2020-10-20
- The fullscreen mode is borderless windowed in the Microsoft Store version.