After nearly two years on PC, Age of Empires IV has finally made its way to Xbox consoles and Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft announced the surprise launch of the game during Gamescom, providing players in its Xbox ecosystem with a little something extra to entertain themselves.
Officially released on August 22, the Xbox and Game Pass version of Age of Empires IV is relatively the same as the PC version. But it now has new accessibility options that can assist players experience the game more comfortably with a controller. Also worth noting is that the game has been available on PC Game Pass for a while now. Which means Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have also had access to it for some time.
This release exclusively targets those with Xbox Console Game Pass and those who simply buy the digital version of the game on their console. It’s also available across both current and old-gen consoles, including Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One X, and Xbox One. If you don’t have Game Pass, you can buy the game for $39.99.
Age of Empires IV on Xbox supports keyboard and mouse inputs
The team at Xbox assures players that controller input for the Xbox version of the game is finely tuned and feels quite good. However, it won’t be forcing players to use a controller to play the game.
The Xbox version supports keyboard and mouse input. So if you prefer the clicks and clacks of your fingers hitting those keystrokes and mouse buttons, you can use them instead. Of course there is then another thing to take into account. If you’re using kbm, you’ll need to either have a wireless keyboard and mouse setup, or peripherals with fairly long cords. Unless your Xbox is located quite close to where you sit.
As mentioned above Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition is available now on Xbox Series and Xbox One consoles for $39.99. But if you already subscribe to Game Pass, you might as well play it there for free.