When Age of Empires IV was released last year, it received almost universal praise from fans and critics alike. The Microsoft published RTS was hailed as a solid new entry in the series, which brought the breath of fresh air needed in a sequel. Now, many fans have been wondering what’s next.
Well, it seems that the fourth entry in the series might be making the jump to console. Twitter user @ALumia_Italia, who uses the Insider Hub to follow Microsoft codenames for everything from new games to new builds of Windows, has found a brand-new mention of the RTS. As you can see in the tweet below, they have discovered the codename “XIP_CAR_JANUARY_2022.”
Furthermore, as @ALumia_Italia points out, “CAR” is a shortened form for Cardinal, which happened to be Age of Empire IV’s codename. They have also theorized that XIP may stand for Xbox Insider Program, which coincidentally happens to be the first mention of “XIP” in conjunction with the game’s codename. Previously, the RTS had always been listed similarly to the Tweet below.
Now, porting a game from PC to Xbox would not be a first for Microsoft. They did this just last year with Microsoft’s Flight Simulator and Gears Tactics, both of which found tremendous success. Therefore, this lateral move simply makes sense, and it’s likely only a matter of time before we get the announcement.
