Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Age of Empires Online shuts down Permanently

Age of Empires Online shuts down Permanently

As detailed on the official blog of Age of Empires on Tuesday, July 1, the first free-to-play game to enter the Age of Empires franchise, Age of Empires Online , will be shutting its servers down permanently as of 4pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, July 1.

Age of Empires Online launched back in August, 2011, and it was based on the gameplay of the iconic Age of Empires series. It was initially developed by Robot Entertainment right up until February, 2011, when it was announced that Supreme Commander developer Gas Powered Games would be continuing production of the game up to its release.

The free-to-play game was available via digital download, and it originally featured two civilizations: the Greeks and the Egyptians. As the years went by, more races were added, such as the Persians, the Celts, the Babylonians and the Norse.

As time went on, two new game modes were added to Age of Empires Online’s roster, Defense of Crete and Skirmish, which provided players with more styles of play to choose from. In June, 2012, the business model concerning the game’s premium content was changed, which then allowed players to purchase past and future content via “Empire Points” earned in-game, or buying Empire Points with real-life money. Simply put, this change in business model allowed for players to earn all of Age of Empires Online’s premium content for free.

It has been a pleasure and an honor serving you all, ” reads the announcement on the Age of Empires blog. “ Thank you for the time you have spent with us, exploring all these little worlds together and conquering them for the glory of your Alliance and your Empire. Thank you especially for the times you spent with each other, in PVP matches, in co-op quests, and in the forums and the rest of the internet. Thank you for playing.

The last hours of the game were then streamed over on the official Age of Empires Twitch channel . At the end of its three-year life, Age of Empires Online racked up final statistics that ranged in the millions, which have been detailed below.

  • Singleplayer Quests: 524,247,423;

  • Multiplayer Quests: 12,792,410;

  • Arena Matches: 2,034,795; and

  • Empire Points Gamed: 2,256,070,428.

On a lighter note, the closure of Age of Empires Online won’t be the end of the franchise itself, as another free-to-play Age of Empires game, Age of Empires: World Domination , is currently in development for mobile devices.

You can watch the game’s announcement trailer via the embedded video below. We’ll bring you more Age of Empires -related news should further information reach our ears.

[ AgeOfEmpires.Blog ]

To top