PCGamesN's Ian Boudreau praised the Art of War tutorials, saying they were 'hugely helpful for new players who want to understand the nuts and bolts of successful economy management'. VG247 felt that the game's commitment to historical accuracy set it apart from its strategy game peers 'making Age of Empires 4 more than just another medieval combat simulator'. The Washington Post enjoyed the campaign balancing describing it as how 'Every battle feels like it could tip any way at any moment' and that there was a 'magic to this design'.

Hayes Madsen of CGMagazine summed up his 10/10 review by saying 'Age of Empires IV is a bold and ambitious evolution of the series, and quite likely one of the best RTS games ever made.' Game Informer liked the history videos between missions, but criticized how the game didn't seem to innovate on the formula of its predecessor, feeling that Age of Empires IV 'lacks any ambition to even gently jostle the standards set by Age of Empires II decades earlier'. Mobile Syrup wrote that 'Age of Empires IV (Age IV) is essentially Age of Empires II with a fresh coat of paint, but that’s entirely okay, especially if you’re a long-time fan of the series like me.' While IGN summed up their review by saying 'Age of Empires 4 is an enjoyable RTS throwback that often plays it too safe, but excels when it doesn't.' Rachel Weber of GamesRadar+ praised the variety of the civilizations, writing, 'each has been meticulously designed to offer different gameplay experiences'. The game received 'generally favorable reviews' according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game released on October 28th, 2021 having been developed using the Essence Engine. Microsoft announced at E3 2021 that the game will be released on Game Pass for PC on October 28, 2021. On March 16, 2021, the fan preview was released, showing more detailed gameplay and also including the two other known civilizations, the Chinese and the Delhi Sultanate. It showed medieval warfare between English and Mongol forces. On November 14, 2019, gameplay footage of Age of Empires IV was shown at the X019 event. Microsoft's Executive Vice-President of Gaming, Phil Spencer, confirmed on June 11, 2019, that Age of Empires IV was still in development, with more information coming later in 2019. On August 21, 2017, Microsoft announced Age of Empires IV, developed by Relic Entertainment. The soundtrack is also available as part of the additional content of the Digital Deluxe Edition on Steam. In-game music was written by Dynamedion composers Tilman Sillescu (Main Theme, Menumusic, Trailers, Mongols, Holy Roman Empire), Alexander Röder (Chinese, English), Henning Nugel (Rus, Abbasid), Armin Haas (Delhi Sultanate) and also Mikolai Stroinski (French). The game's voiceovers were recorded using historical pronunciation of each language.

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