Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is getting a 'Lords of the West' expansion, now available to preorder

What you need to know

• A new expansion called "Lords of the West" is coming to Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition.
• It is expected to be released January 26, 2021 and is now available to preorder.
• This is being called the first expansion, so we can assume there will be more to follow.
• The expansion will include new civilizations, new campaigns, and new achievements.

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition just celebrated its one-year anniversary with a huge free update, and it's clear Microsoft and its partnered developers aren't nearly finished with the game. Announced today, what is being called the first expansion is now available for preorder with an expected January 26, 2021 release. Lords of the West brings new civilizations, new campaign missions, and new achievements to the game. Full notes can be read at the official Age of Empires website.

Starting with the new civs, the game is getting Burgundians and Sicilians. Both of these come with new unique units and technologies, as well as some fancy new castle and wonder architecture to go along.

The Burgundians, a Western European cavalry civ, have a Coustillier unique cavalry unit with a shock attack, as well as a heavy infantry unit known as Flemish Militia. They'll be able to convert food into gold at a two-to-one ratio thanks to the Burgundian Vineyards unique tech, and any knights felled in battle will return half of their gold cost. Combined with the ability to research economic upgrades an age ahead of other civs, Burgundians should get a good head-start and be able to keep it well into Late-Imperial.

Sicilians have a focus on infantry with the Serjeant unique unit. The Serjeant can build Donjons, which can in turn create more Serjeants as well as house other units and fire back at enemies. Sicilians can build castles and town centers 100% faster than other civs, and land units are able to tank 33% of all bonus damage. Combined with a First Crusade unique tech which pops out seven Serjeants at each town center, it's clear Sicilians will be able to snowball infantry production beginning in the Castle Age.

If you're one who's all about the singleplayer experience and are getting a bit tired of the same old AI, three new campaigns are included in the expansion. Edward Longshanks, The Grand Dukes of the West, and The Hautevilles are included, ranging from England to Burgundy to Sicily. These new campaigns are fully-voiced and are expected to live up to the existing campaign excellence found in Age of Empires 2: DE. To go along with the new civilizations and campaigns, 16 new achievements will be included both through Steam and through the Microsoft Store (depending on where you bought the game).

If you'd like to get your hands on the Lords of the West expansion pack, you can preorder now from Steam or the Microsoft Store. Best part? It looks like it's going to cost just $10 but it will require the base game. If you don't have the base game, the best way to get it is through the Xbox Game Pass for PC.

Can't get enough Age of Empires 2? A two-versus-two World Cup tournament is actually happening right now, including the best players from around the world. You can catch all the action at T90Official's Twitch channel while we wait for the new expansion to drop.