Age Of Empires is one of the most beloved RTS game franchises out there since the first game was originally released in 1997. With Age Of Empires II: Definitive Edition and Age Of Empires 4 in development, the franchise is still going strong with no signs of slowing down.

In more than 20 years, the Age Of Empires franchise hasn’t actually slowed down or declined in any way. The player base remained substantial, and they never really went away.

According to Age of Empires series creative director Adam Isgreen (via PCGamesN), there are still more than a million players playing titles in the franchise every month, with growing numbers.

Here’s why Isgreen thinks the franchise has endured all this time:

“It can’t just be nostalgia, right?

There are new people coming into the franchise and playing it, and I think the interesting thing is that for a lot of RTS games,

I think there is a pent-up demand – and the numbers seem to back this – for more ‘thinking games,’ the games that require you to plan and strategise and think.”

There’s a distinct lack of these “thinking games” in the current generation of gaming, where most gamers are content with playing mindless battle royale titles and shooters like Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Overwatch. While I personally prefer the Total War franchise, I agree with Isgreen.

In the meantime, we still don’t have a release date for both Age Of Empires II: Definitive Edition and Age Of Empires 4 but check out the E3 2019 gameplay reveal for the former below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOgBVR21pWg&w=560&h=315]