'Age of Empires' news: New release date for remaster confirmed

Promotional wallpaper for "Age of Empires: Definitive Edition"Age of Empires

After ages of waiting, longtime fans of "Age of Empires" will finally be able to get the remaster "Age of Empires: Definitive Edition," as the developers have announced the new release date for the game.

"Age of Empires: Definitive Edition" will be available only for the PC on Feb. 20 according to Microsoft, the game's publisher. This was quite a setback compared to the target date which developer Forgotten Realms announced on last year which was Oct. 19, 2017, but rest assured, their reasoning that they needed more time in order to give the 20-year-old game justice might finally pay off.

The remaster will then make the game playable as per today's standards in graphics, where it will be available in a resolution of 4K for those with the monitor and the graphics processing unit (GPU) to render it. This makes "Age of Empires: Definitive Edition" more than just a high-definition (HD) remaster.

Apart from the updated graphics, the "Definitive Edition" will also feature an updated user interface to make it more in tune with today's player preferences as well as gameplay changes and additions in the form of the ability to attack-move, control groups, an idle villagers button. There will also be a new and improved destruction model so players can raze rival villages and civilizations in full detail.

For those unfamiliar, "Age of Empires" was one of the most celebrated real-time strategy (RTS) games of all time ever since it was first released in 1997. As of 2008, the expansive franchise of "Age of Empires" has gained as much as 20 million sales, a testament to its classic popularity for PC gamers. There will also be an upcoming belated sequel named "Age of Empires IV" which was announced August last year.

In the meantime, players and fans can make do with "Age of Empires: Definitive Edition" before the new game gets released, and they can even partake in the expanded multiplayer beta for the remaster which will start on Jan. 29.