LIVE NOW! The Age of Empires IV Season Five Public Update Preview (PUP) is available now through May 15th!
To get started with the PUP build, owners on Steam can download the Age IV PUP by following the instructions below:
- Navigate to your Steam library and right click on Age of Empires IV .
- Select Properties… at the bottom of the menu .
- Select the BETAS tab on the left.
- In the Select the beta… dropdown menu, select future_live .
- The build will begin downloading – once complete, you are ready to play!
- Please note that during the PUP, you will be required to launch the Content Editor from the Age of Empires IV section of your Steam Library as well. More information here.
Please note that replays in the PUP build are not compatible with the retail version. Players in the PUP version will only be able to match with those also on the PUP build. To revert back to retail, simply change your beta branch (step 4 above) back to “None.”
We hope you join us for this fun-filled experience, and we can’t wait to hear back from you!
From May 4th through 15th, owners of Age of Empires IV on Steam will have an opportunity to dive into all the amazing content, updates and changes coming in Season Five!
The Age of Empires IV Public Update Preview (PUP) presents an opportunity for our incredible players to get hands-on experience with exciting changes ahead of major updates. They also provide an opportunity to give feedback and help us prepare for upcoming major releases. PUP builds will generally contain new features, content, balance changes and bug fixes.
A New Game Mode, Team Voice Chat, Trade Updates and More!
Among the content highlighted in this PUP is Empire Wars, a new, quick-to-action game mode where players start with a burgeoning empire, ready to dive into combat or advance to the next Age! Players begin the match with a variety of pre-built buildings and villagers already tasked on resource collection.
Not only that, but you’ll be able to try out three news maps before they officially go live, including Golden Heights, Migration, and Volcanic Island!
The Season Five Public Update Preview will also include:
- Team Voice Chat – strategize with your friends in-match with the new team voice chat! Or use the speech-to-text feature to more easily send communications to your team!
- New trade updates based directly on community feedback!
- New unique options for every civilization! From unique tech and unique units, we’re making design changes so that each civilization’s personality shines through!
- Additional support for mods that make it easier for everyone in the lobby to start the match.
- … and a whole lot of bug fixes & balance changes!
This build also contains a number of graphics optimizations, visual upgrades, and performance-related improvements. These kinds of system-based changes, paired with new features, can result in edge case bugs – please report any crashes or issues in the Steam Forums. One of our primary focuses this PUP is to harden our tech and ensure we’re ready to go when it’s time to officially release Season Five!
Getting Ready for the PUP
Alongside the PUP’s start will be Release Notes covering the available content and spectacular changes coming to Age IV!
⚠️This is a preview build of an upcoming update to Age of Empires IV. Some features in this preview are not yet final.
While all feedback will be collected, this PUP is primarily focused on gathering and acting on telemetry and reports related to stability ahead of the major Season Five update.
Please note that Events, Rewards and certain Seasonal activities and surprises may not be present in the PUP.
Something Monstrous and Mysterious Arrives On Land & Water Soon!
While we aren’t previewing all seasonal and event content as part of this PUP, we’re excited to let you in on some of our upcoming plans! Season Five will see the return and expansion of a concept we explore in our second season; our events will be a lot of fun and a little bit mysterious, asking you to scour the land and seas in search of these rare creatures!
Map Monsters are ready to make a splash at our Pool Party event, and you’re invited to join in on the fun next month!