3/26/2012 - Official Announcement 2

Steam Launch
3/26/2012
Ave, all!
I have a major announcement and, with it, a request for the community.
The major announcement is, of course, the title of this post. Very soon, Age of Empires Online will be available on Steam as well as Games for Windows LIVE . There will be promotions and marketing associated with that launch; this means that a lot of new players will become aware of the game and will be able to join you in playing it.
AOEO remains free to play. Players who join us from Steam will have the option of using their Steam Wallet to purchase our content, such as Civilizations and Boosters, just as LIVE players use Microsoft Points.
When playing the game itself, there is no difference between Steam players and LIVE players; no matter which version of the game you have installed, LIVE or Steam, you will be able to play with anyone on AOEO, and there are no game differences at all. However, one unfortunate side effect of the game being available on both services is the Steam Store and LIVE Store are not compatible with each other.
There are a few possible scenarios:
#If you are a LIVE customer you will only be able to make purchases on Steam after Uninstalling AOEO first, and then Reinstalling from Steam.
#If you are a Steam Customer, you will only be able to make purchases through the Steam Wallet. Keep in mind this means that Steam customers will not be able to use Microsoft Points to purchase any content from LIVE.
If you do decide to reinstall, you will NOT lose any progress or items; all that data will still be stored on our servers and be waiting for you after the reinstall is complete. The in-game stores will point to the appropriate store. A few additional notes: If you currently have AOEO installed and you want to switch to the Steam platform.
*Update and uninstall your current game then reinstall via steam. This will ensure the most efficient uninstall process and make reinstalling from Steam much smoother.
*The Steam version WILL include the GFWL platform (i.e. you still sign in with a gamertag etc).
More information will be available from the AOEO Community Team as needed.
That leads me to my request for the community. AOEO has developed a thriving and welcoming community on our official forums, on various fan sites, and perhaps most importantly in chat in the game itself. I would like to ask that you all to make an extra effort to seek out the new players and welcome them into the game. Many of the feature changes in the Spring Update are also geared towards making the game easier to understand for new users (without decreasing the depth that veteran players have come to expect).
The Steam launch will coincide with our Spring Update, which will be occurring very soon. This Update will combine significant play improvements, literally hundreds of bug fixes, and major new multiplayer features—just in time to play with and against the substantial number of new players that will be joining you through Steam.
Thanks for playing!
Join the conversation! Discuss this blog post on our forums: http://forums.ageofempiresonline.com/forums/thread/180715.aspx
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