Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is a remaster of the 1997 Microsoft classic in 4K; beta available in July

Microsoft’s seminal real-time strategy (RTS) game, Age of Empires (AoE), is getting a 4K remake this year. Dubbed the Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, the remaster will include updated sprites, a brand new orchestral score, bug fixes and improved path finding. If that wasn’t enough, the game will apparently include Xbox Live and multiplayer support. For a game that was release in 1997, two decades ago, that’s one hell of an upgrade. The Rise of Rome expansion is also included in the remaster. The Definitive Edition will debut in “later this year”, but a beta will be available in June. The game’s launch price is set at $20. The announcement was made at E3 2017. You can sign up for the beta at the link here.

AoE is, to many gamers, the very definition of the RTS genre. The game was originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft, but Ensemble Studios packed up shop in 2009, leaving the IP with Microsoft. To those too young to remember, AoE pitted a dozen civilisations against each other in a race to destruction and was one of the first, history-based RTS games ever released. The first ever RTS game is not definitively known, as some say that even Chess and Go qualify, but AoE, alongside Warcraft, Command & Conquer and Starcraft, forms the basis of the genre. The sequel to AoE has already been remastered as AoE II: HD and is currently available on Steam for Rs 565. Head **here** to check out our coverage of E3 2017.