Age of Empires 4 is coming at the end of October, but before then, there's going to be at least one more beta test to ensure everything goes smoothly when the game eventually launches. This weekend will bring AOE4's first public stress test, allowing everyone to get a first glimpse at Age of Empire's updated gameplay ahead of its October release.
The public stress test will start on Friday, September 17, at 10 AM PST and run until Monday, September 20th, 10 AM PST. As this is a public stress test, anyone will be able to join and ensure that Age of Empire 4's backend infrastructure will hold up for the official launch in October.
The idea here is to get as many people playing as possible. This will give Relic developers a good dataset and also test AOE4's servers, matchmaking, and lobbies. Anyone can join the public beta by either requesting access via the Xbox Insider Hub app or on the Steam store page.
The stress test will be focused on the game's multiplayer capabilities, so the main campaign won't be available outside of the initial tutorial mission. You will be able to play with AI teammates and enemies in a custom multiplayer lobby, but Relic is trying to encourage people to play against other people.
Four civilizations will be available, including the English, the Chinese, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Abbasid Dynasty. Units have been rebalanced since August's closed beta, so if you're returning for the open beta expect a few changes. Camera distance has also been recalibrated and several bugs have been squashed.
Best of all, there's no NDA to sign, so feel free to talk about your experience on social media. But if you've got actual feedback to share, Relic would prefer you post it on the Age of Empire forums so that they can look into it.
Age of Empires 4 arrives on October 28 on Windows PC.