Age of Empires 4 is getting mods, ranked mode, hotkey improvements, and more this spring

Age of Empires 4 is getting a content editor, mods, and more with the next major update this spring.

Season One, formerly known as the Spring Update, will be the first major update of 2022 and is not far off, according to Relic Entertainment and World’s Edge. Although no release date was given, some content details were shared.

The update will be an entry point for the modding community as a content editor will be made available. Several internal mods and tutorials are released alongside the editor to help modders get started. Although the content editor will be launched as a beta, it will remain available after Season 1 begins.

Along with hotkey improvements, 1v1 ranked leaderboards are also coming with Season One. With the latter, you can expect additional categories within the hotkey menu, the ability to rebind hotkeys, toggle control group exclusivity on or off, the ability to bind other commands to the “ALT” and “Shift” keys, and new ones Global hotkeys will allow you to quickly find idle villagers, cycle through buildings, and more.

Quality of life improvements like the global build queue, patrol train, lobby civ randomization, and full post-game map reveal are also planned. MegaRandom, in-house mods, a new Art of War challenge, difficulty adjustments for a variety of campaign missions, and more are also on the agenda.

With the first season some balance changes are planned, especially for the civilizations of the Abbasid Dynasty, the Chinese and the Holy Roman Empire.

Plans aren’t set for Season 2 right now, but expect a “refined list” as development progresses. In the meantime, however, updates to the ranked season leaderboard will come with a refresh, fully remapping inputs are in the works, a map voting system is being tested, with more control over map selections growing over time, and a color picker for players in preparation works to help with important adjustments.

Other things the developers are actively investigating for the future, some of which are likely to land this year and some may even be dragged into Season 2, include observer mode improvements, taunts, cheats, and waypoint displays.