It has been almost 27 years since the release of Age of Empires 2, and yet new real-time strategy games (RTS) continue to face the benchmark. Because the game not only lives on, it thrives. Currently, there is even a tournament going on where a large sum of money is at stake.
What is the current status of Age of Empires? While Part 1 has already been forgotten and fans of Part 3 are still mourning the death of their game, the remaster of Age of Empires (AoE) 2 continues to thrive to this day. And this, despite the original having been released in September 1999 and thus being almost 27 years old.
With the great popularity of AoE 2, it is no wonder that people have looked back at AoE 4, which was released in 2021. But although AoE 4 is by no means a bad game and even a really good RTS, Part 2 remains significantly more popular – at least on Steam:
- The Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is played daily by around 25,000 players on Steam (according to steamdb.info)
- Age of Empires 4 has an average of around 15,000 concurrent players per day (according to steamdb.info)
So it is not surprising that there is a lot of money to be won at a tournament for the strategy game.
Age of Empires 2 set the standards for RTS
What kind of tournament is this? At Red Bull Wololo, 8 players compete in AoE2 and 4 players in AoE 4. The participants have the chance to snag prize money from a pool of $250,000 (around €216,400).
Compared to other Esports tournaments, this may seem like a relatively small tournament, but in the realm of RTS, it is one of the largest. The final, by the way, starts on April 6, 2026, at 4:00 PM CEST. You can watch it live on YouTube and Twitch.
What makes AoE 2 still so good after all this time? With such an old game, one might think that it should hardly be playable by today’s standards. However, it does not feel that way when you play it. AoE 2 laid the foundation for how RTS should be played, and thus it does not really feel old even after almost three decades.
The game furthermore combines an extremely popular setting – namely the historical Middle Ages – with a strong mix of base building and military. These are the two pillars upon which every match stands or falls. You cannot simply focus on one or the other. Those who want to win must master both.
Above all, it is the still strong multiplayer scene that the game owes its longevity to. AoE 2 remains a popular game for Esports, even more so than the rest of the series. This is why there are still regular tournaments – several are planned for 2026.
MeinMMO author Ody is a big fan of strategy games, especially the Age series. Thus, when a list of the 100 best games of all time circulated on Reddit, which had no trace of the legendary RTS, he had to raise his voice for the game. You can read the article about it here: Players choose the 100 best games of all time, but a legendary strategy game is missing from the list
