Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition is coming out on PS5, affirming to me that PS5 ports of Xbox games aren’t surprising anymore
PS5 ports for Xbox games aren’t surprising to me anymore. On November 5, Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition will be released on PS5. That launch comes just over a week after the reveal of Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the original Halo game that brings the series to PS5 for the first time.
Ever since Xbox began bringing Xbox games to other platforms in 2024, I’ve seen shock and awe at every multiplatform announcement. While those feelings were definitely warranted at first, and you’re fully justified to disagree with the strategy, we’re now at the point where the reality of Xbox games being on PS5 should no longer be a surprise.
From Halo: Campaign Evolved to Age of Empires IV to The Outer Worlds 2 to Gears of War: Reloaded, any series that can remotely be considered a flagship for Xbox is now also on PS5. Whether you like it or not, this is the new reality for Xbox as long as this current initiative lasts.
Age of Empires IV continues Microsoft’s trend of great PS5 ports
Microsoft has yet to release a bad or unoptimized PS5 port
The PS5 version of Age of Empires IV is very similar to the historical real-time strategy game originally designed for PC. The core gameplay loop of Age of Empires is all about building up resources so you can increase the size of your own settlements and armies before eventually taking on opponents who are doing the same.
While this style of strategy game is best played on PC, this console port feels very intuitive on a controller. It’s easy to select multiple units at once, group them, and command them without feeling like your hand is cramping from everything that you have to do.
