History Book Slams Shut on Age of Empires Online
No empire in history lasts forever. Nor, apparently, does an online game that explores them. "Age of Empires Online," the massively multiplayer online (MMO) entry in Microsoft's long-running historical-strategy series, went dark yesterday (July 1) after approximately three years on the market.
Community coordinator "Garmonbozia81" detailed the game's closure on the official website's blog. She explained that the game was experimental in many ways, and that while many of Microsoft's gambles on "Age of Empires Online" paid off, others didn't. The game went dark at 7 pm EDT yesterday.
MORE: How Xbox Originals Will Adapt Video Games for TV
"Age of Empires Online" first launched in August 2011 and was something of a throwback to the early days of the "Age of Empire" series. Whereas "Age of Empires III" ended shortly after the Sioux Wars, "Age of Empires Online" returned to classical antiquity and offered players a choice between the Greeks and the Egyptians, later joined by the Persians, the Celts, the Babylonians and the Norse.
The game's pricing structure may not be the only reason "Age of Empires Online" ultimately failed, but it likely did not help. The game was free-to-play as either the Greeks or the Egyptians, but to access most of the items and quests available to a civilization, players had to dish out micro-transaction money.
Other civilizations, quests and vanity items cost real money as well, making it not at all clear how far a non-paying player could get, and how much money he or she would ultimately have to sink into a "free" game. Furthermore, since the game is now offline, any money spent on it was essentially wasted.
That said, gamers generally enjoyed "Age of Empires Online" while it was running. Players completed more than 524 million single-player quests, more than 13 million multiplayer quests and more than 2 million arena matches during the game's almost-three-year run.
Although "Age of Empires Online" is gone, the series itself will continue. "Age of Empires: World Domination" will hit mobile devices later this year, and Microsoft has also hinted that the franchise might play a role in its new Xbox Originals programming initiative.
Follow Marshall Honorof @marshallhonorofand on Google+. Follow us @tomsguide, on Facebook and on Google+.
Copyright 2014 Toms Guides , a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
