I’m Lennart Sas, co-founder and studio manager at Triumph Studios, and in case I haven’t gotten the chance to introduce my team to you over the last 20 years, we’re the folks behind the Age of Wonders series. For over 20 years, our games have brought you our iconic blend of role-playing and tactical strategy gaming, where creative empire creation, 4X strategy, and tactical turn-based combat come together into something we think is pretty special.

We’re especially proud of our latest iteration: Age of Wonders 4. Our community has reacted with so much love and positive feedback since our launch last year, and that community has grown tremendously thanks to what has turned out to be our biggest and most accessible game so far. But we’re only just beginning – Expansion Pass 2 has launched, letting you tell new stories over the course of the next year.

Everyone has an idea for a fantasy empire, which they’ve been able to bring to life in our worlds – whether it’s a rampaging horde of bloodthirsty, flame-slinging mole people, or a grand, pious army of angelic goblins. We’ve also heard a number of your stories of the unexpected: factions that started with a simple idea but, through your trials and tomes, evolved into something quite different! Inspired by that last point – evolution – I’m eager to share some of the ideas we’re adding to the game in our next wave of updates and expansions.

This week, we revealed the next wave of content coming to Age of Wonders 4 in our second Expansion Pass. It kicks off with Herald of Glory, a modest but exciting collection of new items for your Heroes – your in-game squad leaders and most powerful battlefield pieces – along with some new options for the factions those heroes are out to fight alongside.

That’s just to whet your appetite before we start adding even more stuff – more than you might expect! Make no mistake, we have more tomes of magic and more new faction cultures on the way, but our game has seen a lot of changes directly inspired by your feedback over the last year and a half. We’ve taken your suggestions to ensure we’re not just adding more stuff; we’re putting a lot of focus on making the existing stuff better.

Take the Ways of War expansion, which we also announced. We designed the content in Ways of War with an emphasis on players’ control over the story and theme of their empires, allowing them to shape the narrative of their rise to power. The new “Oathsworn” culture rewards players for sticking to their warrior code, whether that’s only challenging worthy adversaries, or even avoiding war whenever possible. At the same time, we’re adding new Intrigue events that involve assassinations, betrayals, and downright dishonorable foes to see how far our players are willing to stretch the limits of those codes.

We’re also adding more player choice in the updates we’ve made to the base game. The hero upgrade system has been completely revamped, adding new progression trees so you can make each character’s journey a better fit for both your personal stories and your strategic needs. This comes alongside the changes we’ve made over the last year such as the updated Mystic Culture schools, the item forge, new ascension options, and so much more.

There are already some details we’ve shared on more content yet to come to Age of Wonders 4. We’re adding Giant Kings, new handcrafted map regions, and the fulfillment of a prophecy that brings the Ancient Archons back to the realms – but I’m getting ahead of myself. The point is, Age of Wonders has always been about providing a broad array of choices so players can rule any fantasy empire they can dream up. Now, our focus is on making those choices deeper, more detailed, and richer.

If you haven’t tried an Age of Wonders game before now, I feel confident in telling you this is the best time yet. Check out Ways of War and our new expansion pass and see what’s waiting for you!

Age of Wonders 4: Premium Edition

Paradox Interactive

☆☆☆☆☆ 372

★★★★★

$89.99

Get it now

Purchase Age of Wonders 4: Premium Edition and gain access to Age of Wonders 4 and the Age of Wonders 4: Expansion Pass. The Age of Wonders 4: Expansion Pass includes the Archmage Attire, the Dragon Dawn content pack (Release: June 20th 2023), the Empires & Ashes expansion (Release: November 7th 2023), the Primal Fury content pack (Release: February 27th 2024) and the Eldritch Realms expansion (Release: June 18th 2024).