Age of Wonders 4

Although this product has been released, it remains under active development - information may change frequently and could be outdated or irrelevant.

Age of Wonders 4

Developers
	Triumph Studios
Publishers
	Paradox Interactive
Engines
	Creator
Release dates
Windows	May 2, 2023
Reception
Metacritic	83
OpenCritic	82
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Microtransactions	Cosmetic
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Turn-based
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Multiple select, Point and select
Genres	4X, TBS
Themes	Fantasy
Series	Age of Wonders

Age of Wonders
Age of Wonders	1999
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne	2002
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic	2003
Age of Wonders III	2014
Age of Wonders: Planetfall	2019
Age of Wonders 4	2023

Age of Wonders 4 is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view 4X and TBS game in the Age of Wonders series.

Aside from purchasable expansions (see Monetization), the developers have multiple major free updates planned for the game as part of its post-release support cycle. These will include bug and balance fixes, but also new free content and overhauled mechanics. The first in line was the Wyvern Update (v1.003) that was released alongside the Dragon Dawn expansion on June 20, 2023, which included a long list of stability and multiplayer synchronization fixes, as well as new traits, a balance pass, map events, overhauled AI and tweaks to the interface. The Watcher Update (v1.004) from August 15, 2023 overhauled the Magic Victory, tweaked underground areas, rebalanced the game and enabled crossplay between all PC versions and consoles. The Golem Update (v1.005) from November 7, 2023 that was released alongside the Empires and Ashes expansion included an item forge mechanic, war coordination, broadened water gameplay, a rework of the Form Traits, minor quality-of-life improvements and the Pangea map template. The Wolf Update (v1.006) from February 27, 2024 was released alongside the Primal Fury expansion, and included the bounty mechanic, UI tweaks, AI improvements, new free city upgrades, realm and trait randomization, new audio cues, balance changes and reworked necromancy.

General information

Official Discord for game series

Official Paradox Plaza forums

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Publisher website		Premium Edition also available.
Epic Games Store		Premium Edition also available.
Microsoft Store		Premium Edition also available.
GOG.com		Premium Edition also available.
Steam		Premium Edition also available.

All versions require a Paradox Account for multiplayer.

Version differences

The Premium Edition includes the base game, the Expansion Pass and an unlock of the Archmage attire.

Monetization

Type	Notes
Expansion pack	Announced expansion packs will include new cultures, ruler types, race forms, units, and campaigns.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

Microtransactions

Type	Notes
Cosmetic	Three minor DLC are cosmetic options for ruler units.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Pre-Order Bonus Content	Currently not available.
Sign-Up Content	Bonus for signing up for a newsletter, but can be purchased separately instead from every store except Steam.
Archmage Attire	Available as part of the Expansion Pass and the Premium Edition, not (yet) separately.
Dragon Dawn
Empires & Ashes
Primal Fury
Eldritch Realms	Coming Q2 2024.

Essential improvements

Skip Paradox launcher

Run the game directly from AOW4.exe instead of Paradox Launcher.exe
If AOW4.exe is set as the default executable in GOG Galaxy, it will correctly track play time and achievements, unlike with the Paradox Launcher.

Skip intro videos

Move, delete or rename video file
Go to <path-to-game>\Content\Title\Videos\Frontend Move, delete or rename IntroVideo.webm.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Age of Wonders 4\Config\Settings.cfg
Microsoft Store
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1669000/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Age of Wonders 4\Storage
Steam	<Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\1669000\remote\
Microsoft Store
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1669000/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

Graphics settings

Interface settings

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Exclusive fullscreen added in patch 1.005 (Golem Update).
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		MSAA, up to 8x.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Option of refresh rate, ½ refresh rate, ⅓ refresh rate, ¼ refresh rate, or off.
60 FPS
120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Main settings

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion		X-axis can also be inverted.
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Master, music, ambiance, speech, effects, interface.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
French
German
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Russian
Spanish

Network

Crossplay between all platforms and stores is enabled as of the Watcher Update (August 15, 2023).

Multiplayer settings

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		9	Hot seat Can be increased to 12 players with this official mod.
LAN play
Online play		9	Versus Can be increased to 12 players with this official mod.
Asynchronous multiplayer

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer		Constant connection to Paradox servers required.
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP		Connecting via friend invites and access codes is available, however.

Issues resolved

Pantheon resetting

The Pantheon resetting can be caused by, but not limited to, installing the game on a different system even with a full save file transfer.

Follow the Steam community guide. Non-Steam users need to check the appropriate save game data location.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	12

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	FMOD
Interface	Noesis

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10	11
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i7-2700K AMD Ryzen 5 1600X	Intel Core i7-9700K AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
System memory (RAM)	8 GB	16 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	20 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 AMD Radeon HD 7870 Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake) 2 GB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB of VRAM

A 64-bit operating system is required.