Age of Empires 2’s next DLC makes a fan-favourite game mode official and brings over all the first game’s civs

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is set to go back in time with its next DLC, but, like, in a different way than usual. Return of Rome(opens in new tab) is a “completely new type of expansion pack” that will bring AOE 1 into AOE 2 when it releases on May 16, adding all 16 civilisations from the first game and its Rise of Rome expansion pack to the second game’s roster.

That means you’ll soon be able to play the (take a deep breath, get a glass of water) Assyrians, Babylonians, Carthaginians, Choson, Egyptians, Greeks, Hittites, Macedonians, Minoans, Palmyrans, Persians, Phoenicians, Romans, Shang, Sumerians, and Yamato on the plains, steppes and tundra of AOE 2. And if that’s simply not enough human history to choose from, Return of Rome is also adding one brand new civ—the Lac Viet—to its faction list.

It’s not just a factional affair, though. The expansion will also introduce three new campaigns to show off a few of its new (old) civilisations. There are campaigns for Sargon of Akkad (the Sumerians), Pyrrhus of Epirus (the Macedonians), and Trajan (the Romans). If I remember correctly, ‘pyrrhic victory’ is another way of saying ‘really good victory,’ so that second campaign will probably be chill as hell.

Return of Rome will also bring in the D3 game mode, “inspired by a ruleset made popular in Vietnam”. I confess, I’m not familiar with this one, but the AOE wiki(opens in new tab) tells me that D3 is a mode that cuts down on rush tactics and drags games out a bit: You’re only allowed to fight with a single unit until the Bronze Age, and walls and towers are banned.