A beta for Age of Empires 4 will kick off on August 5. This will give Age Insiders a chance to play some matches in multiplayer or against AI ahead of the game's full launch on October 28.
This beta will include a tutorial mission. This mission teaches players the basics of building, economics, combat, and "other core skills." This beta will also include support for multiplayer matches and matches against the A.I. for up to eight players. This beta will include only a few of the maps that will be available in the full game. However, each of the offered maps will offer options for sizing and appearance. In addition, this beta will include only four of the eight launch-day factions: Mongol, English, Delhi Sultanate, and Chinese.
The beta will probably not be a totally smooth experience. The purpose of this beta is to find bugs, monitor balancing issues, and even start on what will be the game's post-launch support updates. The studios say that they are "depending on you to play as many matches you're able to while trying out the various matchmaking systems."
If you sign up to be an Age Insider by August 3 at 7:59PM (ET) you have a good chance of getting in. Yes, that date is today, so you best act fast. The beta will conclude on August 16.
Age of Empires 4 will be available through Steam and the Microsoft Store, same as the beta test. If you want to play the beta on Steam, you will need to link your Age Insider account to Steam and enable "Steam betas" in your preferences.
