Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition's cancelled DLC is back — The Baltic Powers arrives September 2026

Microsoft is reviving a DLC it cancelled just 16 months ago. The Baltic Powers, a new expansion for Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition, is now confirmed for September 10, 2026, complete with a title, a release date, and a full feature breakdown.

The expansion adds two new civilizations — the Danes and the Poles — along with 25 new maps, 50+ hero customizations, and new game modes. The Poles lean into lower building costs, civic bonuses, and cavalry-heavy play backed by a Folwark economy. The Danes work the Customs House to pull shipments from other players early, then shore up their economy through the ages with Snaphane and Gunboat levies. New game modes include Regicide, where the goal is to kill the enemy Regent, and Independence, which strips out Home City support and forces you to win on pure strategy and execution. Two scenarios — Commonwealth Charge and Havana Heat — round out the content.

The road to this announcement was messy. Microsoft first teased Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition DLC back in February 2023 with a vague "late 2024" window, then delayed it, then cancelled it outright in January 2025 — admitting it had announced the DLC before the team had even started building it. The revival comes amid a brutal stretch for Xbox: Asha Sharma's recent "reset" of Microsoft's gaming division is cutting 3,200 jobs by next July, with studios like Double Fine, Compulsion, and Ninja Theory all hit hard. Microsoft has been pushing positive news to steady the narrative, and The Baltic Powers fits that pattern.

Microsoft cited the Age of Empires 3 community's "incredible passion" as the reason for bringing the expansion back. An open beta is also in the works ahead of the September launch, giving players a chance to test the new civilizations before release.