The RTS Esport That Refuses To Die - Age of Empires II 

Hey guys, we had this video in the works for a while and are happy to finally have it out! What about subjects/titles would you like us to potentially look into for future videos?

An honorary shoutout to Voobly: the third-party service which kept competitive Age of Empires 2 alive.

This game has seen economies crash, presidents come and go, music changes, style changes, multiple generations of people coming in and out of the work force, and some of us still cant play to win. LOL

I'm glad y'all made this,the game deserves to be way more popular than it is

I loved Age of Empires as a kid, I had no idea it was still this huge

The age scene is fantastic, however its the community that I like more, aoe 2 is one of those rare communities which has so much interaction between top players and casual viewers, the community is nice and non toxic for most part and most importantly people play this game for fun even during gigh stakes tourneys

Akshon Esports : Being as historically accurate as possible Age of Empires II: How do you turn this on

"There is no daut that.." "A new hera..." Theses puns ahah

in Asia, especially in China and Viet Nam there are tons of AOE tournaments every months with prize pool can reach over 1000 dollars for championship which is a very very huge amount of money here

really sad vooby was forgotten was such a vital part of keeping AOE2 alive. Good video but how do you miss such a crucial detail

Ah yes, Akshon Esports forgets the historical existence of Voobly, just like how AoE2 forgets that Turks historically have great skirmishers. All seems to be in order

08:24 Decimating not only in 1v1 games but team games aswell Biper: WHERE'S MY TEAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I can’t believe this video completely ignored the Chinese community, even without a mention to players like Yo, Tim, etc

So happy Microsoft treated AoE so well, and of course to Voobly for keeping the competitive scene functioning

You know you watch a lot of age of empires streams when you remember most of the random clips in this video

Seriously glad you made this video! To anyone who saw this and has thought "wow I really want to play this game now" I highly recommend you do. The community is awesome and the game its self is so fun. I got in to the game about a year before DE (Definitive Edition) and fell in love with it. I am by no means good at the game but now I am a member of multiple discords and will be playing in my first tournament in a few weeks. Dont be scared to jump in

The most amazing thing to me is how little balance changes have happened through AoEIIs life. It should be the subject of a case study to figure out how to balance games.

Aoe2 community is really dope tbh. Glhf, good luck have fun, is common to see before a match, gg before you resign etc. It's honestly respectable. I mean yeah you may be pissed at the guy for dropping a castle on your head, but you respect the players.

Great video! One thing to say is that there has been some major re-balancing in AoE2 Definitive Edition with the release of new civs, tons of updates to others, and more. You should do more of these videos, they're really dope.

So glad you made this, eventually started watching this channel for overwatch but aoe2 has been a secret fav game of mine since I was a child

It's no wonder that this game survived for that long. It's objectively a reall well-made game and I'm so happy that the team developing it nowadays is composed of passionate people. All the events, the regular patches and improvements are so healthy for AoE. I'm glad one of my favourite game is getting the love it deserves. Also shoutout to the community, AoE players are wonderful.

The incredibly rare thing about AoE2 that's been a part of it's popularity is how fun it is for both casual and competitive players. The amount of depth and options in the game is staggering and it has fantastic bot support. Casual players could put 500 hours into the game offline and still not see everything it has to offer. Competitive players find a mostly solid balance that's constantly changing. Civ's go in and out of fashion as balance tweaks and new strategies come out. Compared to something like Starcraft it's just a world of difference. There's only so much fun you can have with SC as a casual player. I've never played AoE2 online and I've put a stupid amount of hours into it.

2:17 I cried when this happened.. I lost so many friend from a clan and AoE community in Zone.. I miss Zone, forever! I used to play AoE, MS Ants, Rogue Spear, Star Wars Galactic Wars & Midtown Madness for hours

This game was a significant part of my childhood. Really happy to see my favorite esports channel giving it some love!

If this channel was a drug I would have a crippling addiction

Lol I played loads of AoE when I was young and what I used to do sometimes is summoning super fast cars (and tricycle riding babies) through cheat codes to fire rockets (or nukes) on my enemy territory. Good times.

Thank you for covering this. I love AOE2 as an esport. The only thing I would like to say negative about this is the claim that Secret made a dream team. That's not really what happened. Before team Secret was formed there was the Tyrant Clan. Mostly represented by Viper, Daut, Jordan23 and Tatoh. However a super team of 5 people would have looked like Viper, Tatoh, MBL, Lieryy and Yo.

Nice video. Did a good job of explaining why the game isn't being changed. Complexity in Age of Empires is emergent: the game is complex not because of how many different technologies etc it has, but because of how many different possibilities emerge from the basic concepts. Same way chess hasn't needed an update despite having like 6 units. Only think I would add is to say it's easy to start playing even if you haven't been playing for 20 years.

How could you leave out Voobly and the main reason AoE2 HD was even made? Userpatch. Without userpatch AoE would be dead with no doubt.

Started playing Aoe2 in the late 90s / early 2000s as a kid. The release of HD version and later the Definitive Edition was such an awesome gift for someone who grew up with this masterpiece. The online community is really awesome, but even playing the campaigns or skirmishes offline is such a wonderful trip down memory lane.

I grew up playing Age of Empires ll. I'm 20 years old and I still play this. I got onto AoE because of my Dad. I play AoE not for it competitive side but more is casual vs ai, campaigns and just playing with friends.

I always thought this was a mobile game meme, I had no idea this game was so old and had such a long competitive scene, I love this channel, keep OW as your main game but I love seeing these videos on smaller scenes(: oh and Rivals of aether is so much fun! Wouldn’t of found it without y’all

Love these types of vids, makes me wanna play AoE

I don't play multiplayer against people, I'm trash. But I'm so thankful for those that have pushed both in a competitive sense, and a business sense. I played AOE on my father's lap when he was around, Ive played RoR and eventually AoE 2. When HD came out I threw hundreds of hours into it, and I was incredibly happy when the DE were announced. The series is on the short list of my favorite franchises. Seeing it survive and thrive fills me with joy. Thank you for the video, Akshon

God...I remember playing this game as a kid in 2001 and loving it. I never got into the online scene and just kind of assumed it had faded away like so many other classics. And now, 21 years after it came out, it's still popular and has become a thriving ESport. Absolutely incredible.

You forgot to mention how Forgotten Empires made an unofficial expansion looong before they became the team who actually runs the game.

How could you not at least say a big "Thank you!" to the Voobly team for keeping all this story alive long long years before the streaming came to the present level?! Shame on you!!!

I've been following this game for more than a decade. I'm not a player, but I follow AoE2 regularly.... This video was A BIG NOSTALGIA hit for me... Thanks for that.

If Team Secret was the equivalent of the Avengers Joadn is our Hawkeye

El age of empires 2 es la perfeccion es como el ajedrez... Pasaran 1000 años y se seguira jugando... El age es vida.

Me at first "Who the fuck is orjan larsen ??" Me afterwards " oh man hes the viper , praise the god "

Respect to the video, however this omits a pretty lenghty period in AOE, when there was Voobly. And before Voobly, people used to matchmake with Hamachi and there was an Argentinian site which would offer the recordings of the games. Then aoczone was founded and it was, coupled with Voobly a really big platform and a home for aoc players. Daut has been the best for so many years, that noone can come close, even if today he is not number 1. In addition, we should mention L_Clan_Chris (who has recently made a comeback), because he was the only one who was on par with Daut at the time. And this is a really really long period of time.

TheViper looks a lot like Emongg...

I feel like ZeroEmpires or Zak, don't get enough credit for what he has done for the community and Age of Empires as a whole. He was doing a lot of work for the game in the early 2010's and still continues to work on related stuff. The commitment and passion he has shown is something to be admired.

Nice vid, but i have to point some things out you forgot in the timeline in my opinion :). 1. Voobly, the platform used by competetive players until AOE DE was released. 2. ECL - The escape champions league, a one year long competition where about the top 32 ~ 40 players participated 3. NAC - Nilis apartment cup, a LAN event which for the first time broke 10K viewers on twitch for aoe (if i remember correctly) 4. Covid - Which happened a few months after DE was released, which caused intrest in the E-Sport to rise (causing hidden cup to break viewer records).

Thank You for featuring the Battle of Africa 2!!!

Wish y'all had a lot more subs! This is one of the best video essays/mini-documentary channels out there.

As always, such incredible, informative, well structured, and extremely well presented content. Thanks for all the effort you put in these videos :D. I'd love to see some content on: Warcraft 3 esports, the history of esports exposition on public television, the history (and "death" of) of Hon, the history of Heroes of the Storm esports. I'd also LOVE to get a series on strategies that changed the meta of a game forever (GOATs in Overwatch being the most classic example).

I’m glad to be a part of this amazing game thanks to the community and developers who kept it alive. The online battles are just legendary and nothing I have ever experienced somewhere else!

As a esport fan and old lover of this game as a kid. It so cool to see my goof around rts be taken so such heights. Love playing it with friends and t90 and other pros/content creator have done so much to not only revive but evolve the game

That was a really nice summary. I have been playing since 2018 and following the competitive scene since then and I can tell the game is totally alive. You can find a game in less than a couple of minutes, from very low to very high levels. More than 20K players are playing the game every month. The game is usually in the top 50 most played games on steam. Those are some crazy numbers for a game that essentially has more than 20 years.

What i love the most about the Age of Empires 2 Community is the close to non exsiting toxcicity or flamming. Which is kinda something you had to got used to, in games like lol, Overwatch etc. Everybody is welcoming anybody whos intrested in the Game and are just enjoying it to chatt about the game they like. Huge shoutout to T90 - Offical, whos always making the game also understandable for new players!

This channel is the shit. Easily top 5 esports channels on YT, holy moly.

The secret of Age of Empires II is that it is so fun to play. The levels are beautifull, civilizations are interesting and the campaigns really tell a good story. The Middle Ages come to life! I have bought AoEII DE a couple of weeks ago. I was s sceptical about this update because I was dissapointed in AoEII HD. But holy shit does this update feel fresh and good. I am replaying old missions and have so much fun. Got my ass kicked by a moderate AI so I really have to start training again. Back in the old days I could beat the hard AI. 😄

*Cleaning throat* As much as I love AoE2, let's not forget the still strong E-Sports scene in the beautiful Starcraft 2. I'd argue it's way bigger than AoE2

Interviewer : So Viper how did you become the best AOE II Player? *flashback* "Help Me!", screamed Joan of Arc. "Why would you do this?", sobbed Charles Martell. "You Monster", spoke Erik the Red. Barbarossa remained silent. Viper came in, a smile on his face, a knife in his hand and exclaimed "DARK PRINCES! HEAR ME! GRANT ME ETERNAL POWER TO DEFEAT MY FOES! I HEREBY GIVE YOU THESE LEADERS OF HUMANITY AS SACRIFICE!" *flashback ends* Viper(nervous laughter) : Oh you know. Practice, fan support yada yada

My favourite game ever since 2004, when i was just 16yo... nice video guys, regarda from Brazil! :)

Always liked this game but it was about 3-4 years ago I started watching casts and streams and have been blown away by the community. Maybe the finest example of community in all of competitive video gaming.

The community-based were deeply hurted and effectively declined since Microsoft shut down the MSN Zone server. Iirc, AoE have huge community following on there but sadly most people have forgot about MSN Zone stuff

Great video. This is one of my alltime favorites and i played it in pretty much every version there is. Back when it came out and i was incapable of understanding how to win against the easy AI without cheats, back when the HD version came out and i could beat the easy AI and nothing more, back when the HD hype died out and i switched to voobly to loose against real humans, and now i came back for DE to win against the hard AI and still loose to human players. Everytime i have a hard time I take out AoE and everything is good.

I'm a simple guy I heard spirit of the law and give a like in an instant

Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing the history of Age of Empires. I have fond memories of The Zone. Cho War death match was my jam. Age of Kings was fun too but as I got older I also got busier and we all know how that story ends. It's fun to see the history of the game though, and in such a well done way. Kudos and thanks!

That battle of Africa 2 final was INSANE... Would fully reccomend a watch such competitive play ✌

Thanks for making this vid! The AoE2 community is amazing, and rediculously tight-nit. Hope this leads to the game growing a bit more, it's truly the GOAT game

I used to watch my grandpa play this when my age was still single digits. now in my mid 20's I still play the game.

That accelerated drone footage at 0:06 made me think you were showing World in Conflict

very much appreciated, that you shed more light on this beautiful game that is still alive today

Team secret didn't have fatslob? Oof, big mistake

Can't wait for this channel to be at the forefront of Esports News/Analysis

Cool video, thanks! If I may nitpick one thing, Team Secret didn’t assemble that group of players, they recruited a group who had already been playing together (as team TyRanT) for several years. And while they were certainly an all-star team five years ago, that’s not really the case any more: only TheViper and TaToH are still top-five players. Aftermath are much more of an all-star team.

4:00 "was in daut" i see what you did there

Thanks for this, I had no idea about these overlays and how much people still like Age of Empires.

I wish I could give this more praise than just a single thumbs up.....the level of complexity to this game are on a near chess level. It's always interesting and always entertaining. This game, the top players and streamers that keep it going deserve massive recognition for growing a community that is obviously gaining more and more attention. Congrats to all who keep this community going.

Love to hear SOTL get a shout out!

I'm having tears of joy while watching the video🙏 for making this fine piece of art

I used to watch my dad play age of empire all the time when i was a kid sure bring back memories

Always a pleasure to hear more about the game i love. Some things that bothered me that hopefully can be addressed for your next project: the timeline of events, topics and subjects like the mechanics, players and their significants jumped all over the place, the introduction of the pro players of Daut and Viper were so far apart that i just assumed Viper wouldn't be getting the focus, if mentioned at all; 6:14 Adam Isgreen as new creative director from 2014 onwards seems like a big thing for the game and i expected the 3 seperate expansions for HD to be noteworthy enough to fit there, as well as right before as you stated that after HD launched and little hope was held out of it retaining relevance (a statement from a pro player would fit nicely here) the footage is from DE which implies that after 3 expansions for HD and a remaster with another expansion the community was stil sceptical that the game would last, which i highly daut is the case. Also forgetting Voobly is kind of sloppy

Age of Empires was the first game I ever fell in love with, the first one, it came free with our Gateway 2000. I have never stopped loving this franchise

Daut , just a month ago won Redbull wololo 3 tournament ( among the best tournament) He is just crazy 2 decades of being a pro in same game🙄🙄.

I've been playing casually since 99. You know, with cheat codes and just goofing off and stuff. Loved the game and has been my all time favorite. But I stopped playing for a while and recently built a high powered PC and found out about the DE. Literally have a $4,000 PC to play AoEDE... and seeing how competitive the game can be and learning so many dope techniques from RU-vidrs like Spirit I have grown a new love for AoE.

Enjoyed your video!

I'm amazed how AOE2 is still alive and well to this very day, I mean a few months back there was a Vietnamese AOE2 tournament that had 50k-100k viewers

6:40 I'm pretty sure that Adam isn't green

The community of age has remained amazing thru all these years too

Sticking to the RTS Genre, I believe the spiritual successor to Command and Conquer deserves its own video, Supreme Commander, the game has a strong modding community in the form of Forged Alliance Forever. Its definatley worth looking into.

I’ve been playing since I was 8, so happy it’s still around for me to play

When you think about it, Age of Empires 2 is like what Super Smash Bros Melee is to the fighting game scene. It refuses to die

Glad That You Made This Video.Started Playing this game when I was 5years of age.And Really death of Age of empire is not possible.Love From India

A french event, Z-LAN, is live right now, and it's about teams competing on many different games, of which AoE 2 is always a favourite

Thanks for making this video.. it was a but technical and occasional viewers may find it difficult to understand but it is fine.

Voobly was, by far and for a lot of time, much more important to age of empires 2 than the HD release

AOE was my very first foray into RTS and nothing has compared. Nothing ever will!

"Here comes the JOAN OF ARC the last hope fo france "- Narrator Cheering with pride and joy hearing this in my childhood

as much as I love seeing my country mentioned (Chile), I think the big dogs of South America are Brazil and Argentina, not Chile. Although I hope the level keeps improving over here too!

Some events that were important to the game that wasnt mentioned: In 2001 microsoft held a tournament with a 100,000$ prize pool In 2014-2015 a saudi guy held a tournament in dubai for 110,000$

Kinda reminds me of Heroes of Might and Magic 3, which also had its comeback on Twitch.

May be a shout out to voobly was needed, voobly is the reason Age if empires is what it has become today

Unsurprising that a Westwood veteran was responsible for such a good play. Fucking love that guy

Breaking News: Local game too angry to die

Such an amazing game. I’ve been playing Ages competitively since before Rise of Rome was released. I remember playing on MSN zone and everything. Amazing franchise.