Age of Empires 4 - Release date

Age of Empires 4 has not yet been officially announced and it is still uncertain whether and when it will be released. However, there is some good evidence that it will be released in the future.

Evidence for a future release

1. The domain ageofempires4.com is owned by Microsoft

Microsoft, who published Age of Empires 1, 2 and 3, registred the domain ageofempires4.com in 2004. The domain redirects to bing.com which is also powered by Microsoft. (whois)

2. Age of Empires 4 and 5 appear in an official artwork book

An artbook about Age of Empires 3 features this most revealing work. AoE 4 and 5 are not only depicted along with the past versions, but the pictures also suggest the age in which they'll be taking place (see facts). According to Wikipedia, Ensemble Studios employee Sandy Petersen said the image "was total speculation on [their] part." The source of this statement, however, is very doubtful.

When will Age of Empires 4 be released?

On the following graph we have plotted the past Age of Empires versions and when they were released. As you can see we can expect AoE4 in 2011. ;o)