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Age of Empires III delisting and shutdown

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On 8 October 2024, Microsoft announced that Age of Empires III (2007), the Steam release of the original 2005 real-time strategy game, would no longer be available for purchase, and that its multiplayer services would cease running on 30 October.[1] GameRant reported that the original version had been de-listed from digital storefronts by 10 October, with the multiplayer still playable until the shutdown date at the end of the month.[2] The announcement directed players to Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, which remains available.[2][3]

Background

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Age of Empires (AoE) is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game series published by Microsoft. The third game was released in 2005 as the sequel to 1999's Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, shipping over two million copies in its first year, and received the expansion packs The WarChiefs (2006) and The Asian Dynasties (2007).[2] The game retains an active modding community.[4] The Steam release of the original game is labelled Age of Empires III (2007).[1]

Delisting and multiplayer shutdown

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The retirement of the game from sale was announced on 8 October 2024 in a news post on the Steam page of Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition,[1] followed by a post on the original game's own Steam page the next day.[1]

From today, Age of Empires III (2007) will no longer be available for purchase. After many years of support, we will be retiring the title from sale. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition will continue to be supported.

In addition, on October 30, 2024 at 10am PT multiplayer services for the game will cease to run. This is due to the technology no longer being supported.

If you own the game, you will still be able to play campaign and skirmish content. Online multiplayer is the only area of the game that will no longer be available.

Players can experience Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition on Steam and Windows Store, as well as 4 DLC additions which expand the civilizations and campaigns on offer. A free trial of the game is available on Steam for players who'd like to try the game before purchasing too!

A big thank you to all of the Age of Empires III players around the world.[1]

Game Developer reported that fans of the multiplayer were encouraged to move over to the Definitive Edition, and that owners of the 2007 original would keep access to the campaign and skirmish content, playable offline, after 30 October.[3]

Microsoft's response

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The announcement offered no compensation to owners of the original version nor provided any official means of playing multiplayer on non-Microsoft servers. GameRant noted that Definitive Edition was also available to PC Game Pass subscribers.[2]

Consumer response

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Consumers were upset at the announcement, criticizing both the abrupt notice and lack of official means for third-party multiplayer servers. In the discussion section of the Steam news post, user Shadow of Antaeres wrote:

"Multiplayer services ending October 30"

Will you be giving at least partially our money back for cutting important bits of the game in October 30? No?
I thought so.

That is why "YARRR-games editions" are so popular - yes, no miltiplayer (usually), but no dependance on publishers, their infrastructure and goodwill(!!!) too.

In cases like this we need official technology for making our own servers for multiplayer games - NOT "games as services" and other crap like that.[5]

Owners who want to keep playing online multiplayer must rely on third-party services such as GameRanger.[6]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Age of Empires III: (2007) - Multiplayer services ending October 30". Steam. 2024-10-08. Archived from the original on 2026-10-30. Retrieved 2026-10-29.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Garcia, Carley (2024-10-10). "Age of Empires 3 is Being Delisted and Shut Down". GameRant. Archived from the original on 2026-02-08. Retrieved 2026-10-29.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Regan, Tom (2024-10-10). "The original Age of Empires 3 is being pulled from sale at the end of the month". Game Developer. Archived from the original on 2025-07-08. Retrieved 2026-10-29.
  4. ↑ "Age of Empires III mods". Mod DB. Archived from the original on 2025-08-19. Retrieved 2026-10-29.
  5. ↑ Shadow of Anthares (2024-10-09). "Age of Empires II: (2007) - Multiplayer services ending October 30 :: Age of Empires® III (2007) Events & Announcements". Steam. Archived from the original on 2026-10-29. Retrieved 2026-10-29.
  6. ↑ "Supported games". GameRanger. Archived from the original on 2026-02-06. Retrieved 2026-10-29.
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