Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition – The Baltic Powers Expansion Launches Today on PC and Xbox

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition – The Baltic Powers, the fifth major expansion for Microsoft's long-running real-time strategy remaster, is now available worldwide on PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store, and on Xbox for PC players. World's Edge, Forgotten Empires and Tantalus Media confirmed the launch through Xbox Wire on September 10, 2026, bringing the previously canceled expansion back to shelves after a public beta ran on Steam from July 23 through August 6.

The Baltic Powers centers the conflict on the Baltic Sea and the northern reaches of Europe. It introduces two new European civilizations. The Danes, representing the Denmark-Norway union, are a defensive and mercantile power that profits from other players' shipments through a new Customs House mechanic, calls on Snaphane and Gunboat levies, and shelters villagers inside Round Churches to ward off raiders. The Poles, drawing on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, build an agricultural empire around the Folwark economy, enrich the Sejm parliament as their population grows, and lead devastating cavalry charges with Winged Hussars led by the Hetman.

The expansion also adds two new Challenge Scenarios built around high-stakes historical situations, including Commonwealth Charge, where players repel invaders with timed Winged Hussar strikes. Two new game modes change the rule set: Regicide turns each Regent into a fragile VIP whose death ends the match, while Independence forces players to win without the Home City shipments system, a deliberate test of pure strategy. Players can take the new civilizations into more than 25 new maps that stretch from the Arctic to Nova Scotia, alongside new Historical Maps covering the Livonian War, the Dano-Swedish Wars and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A second Hero Cosmetics Pack adds fresh outfits for veterans of other civilizations.

The Baltic Powers was first announced in 2024, then quietly canceled in 2025, before World's Edge re-announced the expansion on July 23, 2026 alongside an open beta that invited the community to playtest the Danes and the Poles ahead of launch. Pre-orders opened on August 13 with a 15% discount on Steam and the Microsoft Store. The full expansion is now live alongside a small backend update for existing Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition owners, and the title can also be picked up as part of Xbox Game Pass for PC.

Existing Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition owners are not affected by today's update, and new players who want to start from the base game can still purchase it through Steam or the Microsoft Store.