Abstract:
Based on the information revealed by Microsoft’s new round of layoffs of affected employees, we were originally expected to usher in a new work in the “Age of Empires” series. However, with Microsoft’s internal studio World’s Edge being significantly eliminated, this new work is likely to be stillborn. The studio was previously responsible for coordinating the remake projects of the "Age of Empires" and "Age of Mythology" series in recent years.
At least half of the studio's employees have been laid off, which seems to include core figures such as Adam Isgren, and the studio has also been placed under Activision. This new sequel to the beloved real-time strategy series may also die soon.
These messages were consolidated and sorted out by X platform user Idle Sloth. He found that Adam Isgren posted on LinkedIn that before the layoffs, World’s Edge “had many excellent plans for follow-up projects”; and Andrew Matz, a well-known developer who once worked for Gearbox, also said on LinkedIn that “our next project has been cancelled.”
Although this does not 100% confirm that the canceled game is the new "Age of Empires", all signs point to this conclusion. World’s Edge’s positioning within the Xbox system is very special—it is not a development studio itself, but Microsoft’s internal management team responsible for operating the “Age of Empires” IP (Microsoft has owned the IP since 1997), coordinating multiple studios to jointly develop a series of works. When we interviewed World’s Edge executive producer Earnest Yuen a few years ago, he explained: “World’s Edge has been positioned as the management studio for the Age of Empires IP since its establishment, and its operating model is somewhat similar to that of Marvel Studios!”
In the past six years, World’s Edge has coordinated the remakes of “Age of Empires 2”, “Age of Empires 3”, “Age of Empires 4” and “Age of Mythology”, and also launched the “Age of Empires” mobile game. At the peak of the project, as many as eight studios were involved in development at the same time, and the smooth progress of these cross-team collaborations was inseparable from the control of core talents like Adam Isgren. Isgren has been deeply involved in the field of real-time strategy since 1993, and has participated in many industry benchmark works such as "Command and Conquer" and "Star Wars: Imperial War".
For a long time, players have always expected that these layouts will eventually lead to the much-anticipated "Age of Empires 5" - a completely original new work rather than a remake. When we interviewed Yuen in 2024, we asked: "It sounds like your current reserves are fully capable of creating a new canon work?" He answered very hesitantly at the time: "This...I...we...of course I personally hope..." In our After being questioned, he relented: "Yes. There are indeed many people in the team who want to continue to expand the content of "Age of Empires". This is definitely the direction we want to push..." Before he finished speaking, he stopped talking and turned to talk about the upcoming "Age of Mythology: Retelling".
The media has contacted former employees of Microsoft and World’s Edge to verify the authenticity of this rumor.
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