Return to Empire release date and the rest you need to know
In August 2021, we covered a story about Return to Empire, the mobile adaptation of Age of Empires, developed by Tencent. Though it has not been released globally, there have been many updates that have popped up in the last few months. Consider this article to be a follow-up on our first story on Return to Empire. Let us discuss Return to Empire's release date and everything else you should know about this title.
About Return to Empire
Return to Empire is a mobile adaption of Age of Empires, the much-loved real-time strategy video game series first released in 1997. Age of Empire games have been developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios.Age of Empires is a PvP RTS where you choose one of the many civilizations available and start an empire from scratch - building an economy and an army before taking on enemy civilizations alongside your allies. The Age of Empires series has been a huge commercial success, selling over 25 million copies. The mobile adaptation of Age of Empires, Return of Empire will feature familiar gameplay with smooth and enhanced graphics.
Return to Empire will allow you to bring your friends together, divide them into teams and jump into battle, but this time instead of playing on PC, you can have the same fun on your Android and iOS devices. It will feature a simple tap to control feature, allowing you to easily manage your units so that you can enjoy playing on your mobile's screen.
When will it release in other countries?
The developers have not announced any news or plans regarding Return to Empire's global release. Now that China has already received a mobile version of Age of Empires, gamers worldwide are eagerly waiting for it to release globally. But sadly, it looks like an English version of Return to Empire is not coming anytime soon. We will keep you updated if any news about the game's global launch arrives.Who is developing it?
Tencent's Timi Studios (known for games like COD Mobile and Pokemon Unite) has partnered with Xbox Games Studios and subsidiary World's Edge to bring the Age of Empires IP to mobile. However, they are developing and publishing the Chinese version of the game. It is still unknown who will create and publish the English version.Tencent's TiMi Studios Group has confirmed it is working with Xbox Game Studios and subsidiary World's Edge to adapt the Age of Empires IP for smartphones. The game is being developed by TiMi Studios under the title 'Return to Empire' and is set to launch in China. pic.twitter.com/xGNjQZjeKE — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) August 12, 2021
Return to Empire has just been released in China
Revealed first in the 2021 Tencent annual game conference, Return of Empires has already been released in China. At the end of March, it launched in China on both Android and iOS. It instantly climbed to number 1 on the iOS download chart. It has also received positive feedback from Chinese players, making it clear that it will enjoy the same success if it releases globally.Tencent's TiMi Studios released Age of Empires Mobile in China today, based on the Xbox IP. It debuted at #1 on the iOS game download chart and is already a top 10 grossing game The marketing focuses on the real time strategy elements and greater degree of freedom vs other games pic.twitter.com/LYNvk8fgkC — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) March 29, 2022
Is Return to Empire the same as Age of Empires PC?
While the core game mechanics will remain the same, based on the gameplay videos that have been shared on Youtube, it's pretty clear that the graphics will be quite different to the original Age of Empires. The buildings and units are designed differently while the gameplay mechanics regarding selecting units have also been optimized for mobile, so players can easily select single and multiple units.Return to Empire also introduces a weather system. While in Age of Empires, it was always bright and sunny, even if you were in the same battle for more than 24 hours, in Return to Empire, there is a brand new weather system meaning you can experience - rainy, sunny, winter weather.
Being a mobile game, Return to Empire will be a much more fast-paced game compared to Age of Empires. In Age of Empire, sitting in front of the screen for more than 6 hours trying to win the battle was very common, but here you can expect to finish up battles in just a couple of hours or even before that.
Is it free-to-play?
Yes, Return to Empire is a free-to-play title. You can simply download it from the app stores and enjoy playing. However, it will include in-app purchases, which will purely be for cosmetic purposes and provide no in-game benefits.Does it support Cross-platform play?
Return to Empire will feature cross-play with other mobile platforms - from Android to iOS but since it has been built exclusively for mobile and it's not a PC port but rather a brand new game built from scratch. As such, it will not support cross-platform play with the game's PC or console versions.- Also, check out our list of the best strategy games for Android phones and tablets in 2022.
