Not bad for a college student born just a year before the base game’s 1997 release.Īs explained by Definitive Edition developer Adam Isgreen, Age of Empires is essentially a solved game, with the chariot archer considered the best unit and two of the 16 civilizations - Shang and Assyrian - considered to be the best at pumping them out. Noted for his flexible tactics and quiet demeanor, he’s popular enough that some modelling he did for a friend’s clothing store earned him gaming site headlines. Top player Chim Se Di Nang (Sunny Sparrow) is credited with $23,467.25 in tournament winnings over eight years of pro play, plus his profits from streams that pull in up to 34,000 concurrent viewers, plus benefits and a roughly $216 monthly salary from his eSports team.

But in Vietnam it’s the original Age of Empires, a game that’s been untouched for 21 years, that remains beloved.Ī 2018 tournament - using the Definitive Edition, sponsored by Microsoft, and featuring a trailer worthy of an action movie - offered a roughly $11,000 USD prize pool to players in a country where the average monthly salary is $150. While the Definitive Edition struggled to succeed, Age of Empires II continues to receive modern expansion packs, fuel popular streamers and YouTubers, and see regular high-level competitive play, all in preparation for its own hotly-anticipated Definitive Edition. And the troubled release of 2018’s Age of Empires: Definitive Edition seemed to confirm this hierarchy, with mediocre reviews deeming it mechanically antiquated. The first game is generally considered too dated, III too odd, and Mythology too far removed from the series’ historical context. Age of Empires is a franchise dominated by its second installment.

Age of empires 1 expansion