Leaked Age of Empires IV images whet the appetite for RTS fans but serious drive space allocation may be required

There are plenty of real-time strategy fans out there waiting for the next installment in the storied Age of Empires series. With Age of Empires III originally being released in 2005, it has been a very long wait for a sequel, although there have been Definitive Edition remasters appearing over recent years to fill the gap. However, it seems Age of Empires IV will finally arrive on October 28 and some new screenshots and details have now been leaked via Steam.

While Steam has rapidly taken down the listing, u/MrBritchesTheBold has kindly shared all the necessary details on Reddit. The screenshots (see below) show gameplay moments involving ships, castles, and the variety of armies you would expect to encounter in an Age of Empires title. Game details for the Digital Deluxe Edition of Age of Empires IV reveal a release date of fall 2021, the inclusion of bonus content, and the presence of images created by Craig Mullins, who has expertly crafted illustrations and matte paintings for numerous video games and movies.

All the game's campaigns (four in total) and missions (35 to wade through) that span over five centuries “from the Dark Ages up to the Renaissance” come at a data-storing cost. It has been alleged that the file size for Age of Empires IV will be a whopping 93 GB. Steam notes that 42 GB of available space is required for downloading and storing Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, so these are hefty titles in general anyway. But needing more than double that space for Age of Empires IV could leave fans wololo-ing if they don’t have enough room.

Buy a digital code for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition on Amazon