Publisher Xbox Game Studios and co-developers World’s Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, CaptureAge, and Virtuos Games have released a free update for Age of Mythology: Retold.
While the new update adds a bunch of bug fixes, balancing tweaks, and UI improvements – the main focus of the update is the new game mode Arena of the Gods.
The new arena mode is playable solo or cooperatively with a friend and will take you across 35 skirmishes through Age of Mythology’s entire world. Each win gets you new blessings from the gods, akin to a roguelike game, though on a huge scale.
Here’s a brief blurb on the new update, plus a trailer:
What is Arena of the Gods?
In a world where the gods reign supreme, Arena of the Gods beckons you to answer their call. This all-new mode invites you to embody a legendary hero through 35 skirmish missions filled with mythological wonder and peril.
Playing as Kastor, embark on missions which will take you across fabled landscapes, pitting you against mythical enemies and – should you be victorious – reward you with Blessings from the gods themselves.
Available with Arena of the Gods:
- 35 Epic Skirmishes: Battle through diverse mythological landscapes with selectable difficulty.
- Solo or Co-Op: Play as a hero alone or team up with another friend for cooperative fun.**
- Earn Blessings: Gain powerful abilities like Poseidon’s Rushing Tides and Thor’s Crashing Thunder
- Dynamic World Twists: Enjoy ever-changing conditions that keep battles fresh and exciting.
As you navigate these legendary landscapes—facing the icy embrace of the Tundra or the treacherous shores of the Black Sea—every battle brings fresh challenges and unique gameplay. The gods watch your every move, and their divine will shapes your destiny.
Choose How You Play
Enhance Your Strategy with Blessings
Choose your path to glory, with new and powerful Blessings unlocked with each victory. Will you race your way to the final encounter, or strategically defeat every opponent across all fronts to fully customize your strategy? The choice is yours. Use your Blessings to forge and master your unique strategy for each encounter!
Earn the favor of the gods and get Blessings for each victory. Below are just a few of the many enhancements to your strategy!
Freyr’s Chosen Few (Unique): Houses/Manors are more expensive but spawn a Villager upon building.
- Gaia’s Lashing Roots: Heroes and Legends deal area of effect damage.
- Odin’s Outlaw Wisdom: Special Abilities and God Powers recharge faster.
Experience World Twists
But be careful, the mythical landscape is full of World Twists! The ever-changing twists add a new level of fun challenges that will constantly redefine the battlefield. Will you be able to harness the power of World Twists, or break beneath them as the other would-be heroes who came before you?
Forge your destiny despite the challenges ahead. Below are just a few of the many interesting World Twists!
- Gaia’s Remnants of Atlantis: Clusters of units are spawned across the map for the player(s) to collect once they accomplish certain objectives.
- Thoth’s World Twist: Double effect for all God technologies.
- Freyja’s World Twist: Cavalry is more expensive to train but transforms into infantry upon death.
Your journey is one of mythic proportions, where every victory brings you closer to becoming a legend worthy of divine favor. Enter the Arena of the Gods—embrace your role as the hero, face mythic trials, earn Blessings, and claim your destiny in this epic adventure. Only the challenge of the gods awaits!
Age of Mythology: Retold has been available since September 2024 for Windows PC (via Steam and the Microsoft Store), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Game Pass.
