Happy July’s-eve everyone! With only hours left until the end of the month (or [i]negative[/i] hours for our friends living near the dateline), we wanted to fill you in on where we’re at and what’s on the horizon for [i]Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition[/i]. While we don’t have a June update in store for the final moments of the month, we [i]do[/i] have a lot in store for you this July! Rather than trying to explain it all in text, here’s our own [b]BBQTurkman[/b] with an early sneak peek at some of what’s in store: [previewyoutube=mnAwxTqA_WE;full][/previewyoutube] For those of you who still appreciate detailed lists ([i]…and who doesn’t?[/i]), here are some of the highlights from the video along with some additional tidbits of info: [quote][h1]COMING THIS JULY[/h1] ✅ [b]There will be a JULY UPDATE![/b] ✅ [b]The RANDOM MAP and DEATHMATCH game modes will have unique map pools.[/b] ✅ [b]A new PREFERRED MAP option lets you prioritize the map you want to play.[/b] Here’s how it will work: [list][*] If both players share a preferred map, they will play on that map. [*] If players have different preferred maps, it will choose from the two. [*] If one player has a map preference and the other doesn't, the preferred map will be used. [*] If neither player has a preference, a random map will be selected from the pool of non-banned maps. [*] In Team games, the map is selected from the list of preferences provided by players, skewing towards those that are preferred by the majority of players.[/list] ✅ [b]We will use COMMUNITY VOTING to determine and modify the map pools![/b] [list][*] Use your voice to help determine which maps show up in the ranked pool(s).[/list] ✅ [b]The Ranked map pools will be UPDATED EVERY TWO WEEKS![/b] [list][*] You can check out the first rotation which [url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/813780/announcements/detail/2498884002732546201]happened yesterday[/url]![/list] ✅ [b]A new RANDOM CIVILIZATION option randomizes picks for everyone.[/b] [list][*] With the option, all picks in a given match will be randomized, not just an individual’s pick.[/list] ✅ [b]Coming soon: the MONGOL EVENT![/b] Which includes: [list][*] Three new profile icons! [*] A solid gold statue! [*] Visual mod for houses![/list] ✅ [b]New: COMPETITIVE SCENARIO based on the E3 Demo, plus an online leaderboard![/b] [i]…and more[/i]![/quote] All of this comes with a new approach to how we deliver content, updates, and fixes to the game. We will highlight more of the process changes coming with (and continuing beyond) the July update, but we wanted to start with some of the important changes coming to [i]Age II: DE[/i] based on the community’s feedback. As always, the forums and Discord are your safe space to discuss these new changes—as well as the features and ideas you’d be excited to see in the future! [quote][h3]👉 [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/813780/discussions/0/]Visit the Steam Forums[/url] 👉 [url=https://discord.gg/ageofempires]Visit the official Discord server[/url][/h3][/quote] This is only the beginning; thanks for coming along on this journey with us! —The [i]Age of Empires[/i] Team