One of the best real-time strategy series ever released on PC finds its roots in the original, which hit store shelves in October 1997. Over the years—or shall we say ages—a number of RTS titles have been released to critical and commercial acclaim.

Developed by the supremely talented team at the now-disbanded Ensemble Studios, the series is now shepherded by World’s Edge, a new studio under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. It is they who have planned a live Anniversary Edition Broadcast.

Tomorrow's our big day, and we hope you're as excited as we are! Please be sure to bring one of the following items with you on October 25th:

Wondrous wololoing
Immaculately placed farms
Wood, gold, or stone

OR write in an item of your choosing! #AoE25 pic.twitter.com/YDGNvXEoO2

— Age of Empires (@AgeOfEmpires) October 24, 2022

The event gets underway October 25 at 1 p.m. EST, during which the development team and community members will share new announcements for all five mainline games in the series.

These are Age of Empires, Age of Empires II, Age of Empires III, Age of Empires IV, and the fantastical spinoff, Age of Mythology. Barring the latter most, all three games have received remasters in the form of Definitive Editions, with the fourth entry being the current one.

The team is not sharing complete details about what we will see at the event, but the show will be broadcast on major streaming platforms, including Twitch and YouTube. The Age of Empires, Xbox, and Red Bull Gaming channels will host the live stream.

And, across the globe, those timings are:

We do know that a new Anniversary Edition of Age of Empires IV will launch for free as the full version, which has the base game and all updates so far released. The new Anniversary Update will also arrive on the same day, bringing two new civilizations: the Ottomans and Malians.

Older Age games are not forgotten, with new challenges and rewards being available to celebrate the anniversary.

The mythological Age of Mythology remains the big mystery, which remains sans the Definitive Edition treatment even as the fans continue to demand a sequel in the form of Age of Mythology II.

Not long to go before we find out what’s cooking.

Essentially, confirming the rumors.

There are no clues or teasers about what to expect at the event. The official website only contains a colorful remake of the stock Windows 11 wallpaper with handwritten text that simply says “Save the date.”

But we don’t have to guess too hard, as it is pretty much safe to assume that the invites are for the company’s annual hardware event that it hosts each fall.

This year marks ten years since the unveiling of the original Surface Pro tablet, which was powered by Windows 8. So, in that sense, this makes for a rather special gathering for Redmond as it marks the tenth-year anniversary of its popular line of hardware devices.

According to rumors, the company wants to celebrate this in style.

An indication of which we already got with the funky teaser image above.

Further rumors claim that Microsoft will show the 9^th generation Surface Pro with Intel and ARM processors, essentially merging the line. There is also a 5^th generation Surface Laptop in the mix and possibly a long overdue Surface Studio refresh.

Amidst all these unveils, there is bound to be a selection of new accessories — the usual.

Of course, Microsoft is keen to keep all the details under a veil until the event, but as is the norm, we are starting to get leaks about what is cooking behind the walls of Redmond. We will, obviously, have to wait until the middle of October to find the details.

The event will begin on October 12, 2022, at 10 a.m. ET/ 7 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. GMT.

It will be streamed live on its official website.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the beginning of the global health crisis, Redmond has held all its events digitally. But this July, the software titan announced its intention to hold its first physical gathering, Microsoft Ignite.

The event is slated to run from October 12-14 in Seattle at the Seattle Convention Center.

Folks interested can register for Ignite right on the conference homepage. There, they can choose to attend virtually or in person.

Those who opt to go to the event in person will have to part ways with $1,895, the approximate cost of attending the gathering. As Microsoft details on the FAQ page, the price will depend on the pass option you select while registering.

Of course, attending the conference virtually is free, but it still requires registration, which you can do at the official site above.

Proceedings will kick off at 9 am PT.

In addition to the conference in Seattle, the Redmond-based technology titan is planning spotlights in multiple key locations worldwide that will revolve around the news and announcements from the main event and include a market-specific discussion for those regions.

But we don’t have confirmation of what Microsoft has in store for us during the three-day conference. For that, we will have to wait for the agenda, which will likely include sessions that the company will reveal closer to the conference.

There are some indications that the event could feature the release of new Surface devices and even the Windows 11 22H2 Update, which is now pretty much ready for prime time.

Both in 2022 and beyond.

Gamescom 2022 is finally an in-person event this year after the desolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic these past few years. And it provides a chance for the gaming community to hang out in person with developers and game designers on the show floor for the first time since 2019!

The event is actually following up on a tamer summer after the unexpected cancelation of E3 2022.

But while the year itself may have been rather quiet for gaming, Microsoft is all ready for a bold comeback by bringing its full range of gaming wares.

Although the company made clear that it would not be showing off new and unannounced titles at the event, it nevertheless brought a large selection to the annual trade show in Cologne, Germany, which kicked off on August 23 and will run until August 28.

The Gamescom festivities for the Redmond-based company include a dedicated Xbox live stream and a presence in the Future Games Show. Following these are an assortment of smaller indie showcases.

While there is far too much to go into detail here, gaming sites are full of video games and experiences that are set to grace PC and Xbox platforms later this year and into the foreseeable future.

Microsoft has, however, comprehensively recapped the event and what’s coming next on its Xbox news site. Point your browsers at the link above to collect the details.

Those of you lucky enough to attend Gamescom 2022 can track your way to Hall 8, which houses the Xbox booth. The booth features 36 stations showcasing the fantastic lineup of games that are heading to its two platforms, PC and Xbox, in the next 12 months.

Many of these will, obviously, also arrive on Game Pass on day one.

The party is just getting started!

This year’s event will be the first in-person showing for Microsoft at Gamescom since 2019.

It will also be the company’s first in-person attendance since coronavirus ravaged the world the past couple of years. This is very much like Ignite 2022, which Redmond is gearing up to host later this year in October.

But for the benefit of those who cannot make it there, Redmond will also livestream its presentation for fans who can’t attend. It will include interviews and gameplay from multiple studios and games.

And yes, a whole bunch of games will get their time in the spotlight.

A detailed schedule will be released closer to Gamescom, but we already have a taste of what to expect from the various developers that create their wares for Xbox Game Studios.

These include titles like:

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Age of Empires IV
• Grounded
• Gunfire Reborn
• High On Life
• Lies of P
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Minecraft Legends
• Pentiment
• Planet of Lana
• Sea of Thieves

Plenty of interesting stuff here.

Personally, looking forward to what they have in store for Age of Empires IV, an expansion perhaps like in the good old days.

For those of you who can attend Gamescom in person, Microsoft will have a range of publicly playable games. You will also have an opportunity to have your picture taken with developers and characters from these titles.

Gamescom 2022 kicks off Wednesday, August 24, 2022, and goes on till Sunday, August 28, 2022.

Two whole years of virtual events will pave the way for Ignite 2022 this year. This special event for developers and IT admins will take place in the company’s hometown of Seattle at the Seattle Convention Center from October 12 to 14.

All this has been confirmed by the software titan, with reports hinting that some big things are in store when it comes to Microsoft products.

But before we get to that, here is the official bulletin:

Guess what’s back, back again.
Mark your calendars for an all-new, reimagined #MSIgnite! Explore the latest innovations, learn from product experts and partners, level up your skillset, and create connections from around the world.
Learn more : https://t.co/hHgaEFwzEx pic.twitter.com/FRMnwD9YZd

— Microsoft Ignite (@MS_Ignite) July 27, 2022

For now, there is no information on how Microsoft plans to ensure everyone’s safety or if it requires vaccination for attendees. The same goes for the social distancing or mask policy in play at the event, which remains unclear.

Although the Redmond-based company is ready to resume large in-person events again, it says space will be limited. For this very reason, there is still a digital option, which will be free.

As in the years past, before COVID-19 ravaged the world as we knew it, Microsoft says that those who will physically attend the event will have smaller interactive in-person learning and connection opportunities with technology leaders, influences, and more.

The cost of an in-person event will also depend on the experience you choose. The company promises to share more details about this in later August. Expect limited passes for these activities.

That’s not all, though.

In addition to the central Seattle location, Microsoft is also planning to hold spotlights in multiple countries, including France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, and the UK. These smaller events will discuss the news and announcements from Keynote and Core Themes, along with market-specific discussions.

In the meantime, this newly updated FAQ about the upcoming Ignite IT conference should answer any further questions you have regarding the anticipated event.

Microsoft will open registrations for both in-person and digital attendance in late August. The company recommends that you register as soon as possible before the commencement date of October 12, 2022.

You can sign up now for updates on Ignite registration.

To go with product updates, of course.

These are recapped in a post on the official company blog, which you can scan for more details.

But Redmond boasts that it has more than 400,000 partners on board who employ more than 22 million people around the world. And there is a lot to like for these companies at this partner-focused annual event from the software titan.

We will start by celebrating the winners and finalists of the 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards, which recognize the outstanding successes and innovations by these partner firms in 100 countries worldwide.

Independent software vendors also enjoy new benefits with the ISV Success Program, which is designed to help them innovate rapidly and build well-architected applications that they can then publish to the company’s commercial marketplace and grow their sales.

The program is currently in public preview and destined for broader availability in fall 2022.

To help governments around the world accelerate their digital transformation, Redmond has unveiled the Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty, a new solution that enables public sector customers to build and digitally transform their workloads in the company’s cloud platform.

Another big highlight is the enhanced focus on hybrid work, where the company is delivering new capabilities in solutions like Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams that let people contribute whenever and wherever they are working.

Also in store are improvements for Windows 365, which marked its first anniversary. This service also received a whole bunch of new features and options.

The Inspire 2022 conference also hosts keynote speeches from company officials like Satya Nadella, Nick Parker, and Judson Althoff.

You can give the sessions catalog a look for the juicy stuff.

The latter of these comes with new features enabled.

And to test said features, Redmond wants you to join a good old-fashioned Bug Bash. This is to make sure that these new options are ready for mainstream and arrive for end users without any problems or major issues.

Microsoft talked about enlisting for this new Bug Bash in the announcement post.

Detailing that if you are running this particular build, you can crack open the Feedback Hub to find a selection of Quests that are waiting for you to try and give feedback on. However, the company did not mention what the bug bashers would receive for their efforts.

However, judging by previous such events, participants were awarded a Bug Bash sticker that appeared in the Feedback Hub.

If you want to join, though, you’ll have to be quick.

The Bug Bash will only run between July 20 to July 25 PDT, meaning if you want in on the Quests, you will have to get your machine to update fairly quickly and start spotting and reporting any bugs that you encounter.

For those of you who are curious about the tasks, fairly run-of-the-mill activities await you. Previous Quests included tasks like “Access your Microsoft Account free benefits in Settings” and “Easily find the Settings you need via the Settings in-app search box.”

In other words, these are the simplest of tasks that only the absolute novice would struggle with. But the again, newbies usually are not running a beta build of Windows 11, anyway.

Feel free, then, to join the hunt and provide your feedback to Microsoft — feedback that is sure to come in handy for the company as it gets ready to launch the first feature update for Windows 11 in the coming months.

Sure, the summer season can be a barren time for new game releases, with most video game publishers saving their best and biggest offerings for the holiday shopping season. In other words, the colder months are when more people are staying inside and playing more games.

This has traditionally been the case across the entire industry for ages now.

But that doesn’t mean that publishers put up their current titles at discounted prices for people to buy and enjoy. Many have, in fact, and now Microsoft is joining in the summer fun.

Redmond has confirmed that the 2022 edition of its Xbox Summer Sale is now underway, with more than 500 titles available at discounted prices.

There are far too many titles to list here, so you can check out the full details at Xbox Wire above.

You can get everything from current Xbox Series X and S titles to Xbox One games at up to 90% off. And then there are even older games for the classic Xbox 360 that are also available at these highly discounted prices.

Games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, and Red Dead Redemption 2 are the main highlights, but with FIFA 22, Halo Infinite, and even Toy Story 3, there is something for everyone in this sale that runs from July 15 through to 31.

The point is that there is a whole treasure trove of titles up for purchase.

And no better time than now to do so.

Puns always intended.

Microsoft will be present at the event, with team Xbox already planning big for the gaming get-together. We may not get some blockbuster reveals from the company, but the idea is to provide updates on the announced games—of which there are many.

The idea, according to the official statement from the company, is to focus on what it plans to launch in the next 12 months:

“We’re excited to confirm that Xbox will be back on the show floor at Gamescom 2022 in Cologne, Germany. Fans in Europe and around the world can expect updates on some announced games coming to Xbox in the next 12 months.”

So, it appears that Microsoft will follow the messaging from its June Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase event, focusing on titles due for release soon.

Sane strategy, even though some hints and announcements far into the future would have been better. Particularly games destined for the PC platform.

Still, the prospect of getting new information on upcoming games that we can play in the next year is exciting. And for gamers, it will be totally worth their time to see and experience what Redmond is cooking on the gaming front.

Expect more details on the likes of the new Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield next month.

Gamescom will be broadcast from Wednesday to Sunday, August 24 to 28. This year, the trade fair will be hybrid, with both in-person and online aspects.