Age of Empires: Definitive Edition to support cross-play between the Microsoft Store and Steam

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is an amazing experience. The title focuses on historic armies and significant conflicts that have occurred in the past. The first game spawned a couple of sequels, but there's something about the original that stands the test of time. In our review, we said, "If you somehow managed to miss out on trying the original Age of Empires, this is your time to get stuck in. The Definitive Edition is an excellent nod to the classic title that made the series what it is today."

This morning, Microsoft announced that Xbox Game Pass was coming to PC. The service will offer over a hundred PC games for one monthly price, but there's more to the story. Beforehand, players who purchased games from the Microsoft Store couldn't play with those who purchased the same title through Steam. Luckily, that's about to change with Age of Empires: Definitive Edition at least. The Age of Empires Twitter account confirmed cross-play between the Microsoft Store and Steam.

AoE: DE will support crossplay between both platforms, so you'll be able to play with everyone no matter what! Owning the game on one store won't give you a license on the other, but you can add non-Steam titles to your Steam library if that's where you like to manage your games.

— AgeOfEmpires (@AgeOfEmpires) May 30, 2019

Cross-play is the future of the industry, and it's great to see that Microsoft is enabling it between different PC platforms. Hopefully, more older titles will be updated to take advantage of this. This should help people easily find players for the multiplayer modes.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition costs $20 through the Microsoft Store. With over forty hours of modernized gameplay, all-new 4K visuals, eight-person multiplayer battles, and a host of other new features, there's never been a better time to jump into the game.

Cheap PC accessories we love

Take a gander at these awesome PC accessories, all of which will enhance your Windows experience.

Anker 4 port USB 3.0 hub ($10 at Amazon)

Whether on a desktop or laptop PC, you always need more ports to connect things to. This hub gives you an additional four USB 3.0 Type A ports.

Ikea Fixa Cable Management System ($11 at Amazon)

This IKEA cable management kit is your ticket to a clean setup. It's simple and functional.

NZXT Puck ($20 at Amazon)

This clever little accessory has powerful magnets on the rear to make it stick to any of the metal panels on your PC case or anything else. It's great for hanging accessories like headsets.

Some potential

Review: HONOR MagicBook 14 is a fun, low-cost notebook with one drawback

Those on a budget with just $550 may want to consider HONOR's MagicBook 14. While it runs a last-gen AMD Ryzen processor, the core features of this notebook are better than most in this price range. Here's our quick review of why you should (and shouldn't) get this affordable laptop.

Incoming

Intel's 11th Gen Tiger Lake CPU lineup launching September 2

Intel is ready to enter September with a bang. The company invited members of the press to an event set for September 2, where we're likely to see it launch its 11th Gen CPU lineup, codenamed Tiger Lake.

PC players can finally Finish the Fight

Review: Halo 3 on PC is exactly what you were looking for

Halo 3 has been exclusive to the Xbox series of consoles for 13 years, but that all changes now that the game has been released on PC through the Master Chief Collection. But how does the port hold up? Here's our full review.

Power It Up

Keep your Xbox One controller charged and ready with these battery options

Sick of standard AA battery cells? Try one of these great Xbox controller charging solutions instead.