About this FAQ:
The Known Issues & Solutions page is available to help provide information regarding high-priority issues, such as those impacting a fair number of players, or that are most disruptive to gameplay.
Disclaimer
Below is a list of known issues we are tracking for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Note that this is not a comprehensive list; we will continue to update it with new issues as they are reported and fixed, will only include the most visible or disruptive issues that prevent you from enjoying the game. Issues that could be leveraged for an unfair gameplay advantage (AKA exploits) will never be included in this list.
Table of Contents
Below is a quick overview of the different sections of Known Issues for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. If you are looking for something specific please use the quick links here to navigate to the necessary section.
How do I report an issue?
If you encounter a bug or any other issue that is not on the list below please follow these steps:
- Check our Support pages for common troubleshooting and workaround steps.
- Search the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition forums for existing reports to add a comment with your example.
- Start a new thread on the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Report a Bug forums to report a new issue.
- Submit a ticket our Customer Support team with a description of the issue, what troubleshooting steps you may have already performed, and if relevant, any files, screenshots or video links that may help with the investigation.
Thank you for taking the time to help keep our game clean and bug-free! We will try to update this list each month, as well as provide solutions to any new issues over on the official forum or through Customer Support.
This page was last updated on June 3, 2026.ISSUE STATUS KEY
Issues have been marked with a status that best represents their current state:
| Tracking |
|---|
A tracked bug means that it has been reproduced by our test team. The team now has to determine whether and how they solve the issue: whether it requires a fix, a change to the design or code of the game, or if there are other solutions that need to be considered.
| Examples Needed |
|---|
This issue has been reported, but we need further information to continue our investigation; please read the issue description for details.
| Fixed |
|---|
Once the fix is available in the game, we'll check things off of the list. Eventually, these items will be hidden to make way for other issues as they are identified, tracked, and prioritized.
TRACKED (KNOWN) ISSUES
These are issues which have been reported and reproduced by our Quality Assurance (or Test) team. Issues are listed in the areas of the game they impact, below, and in no particular order.
Bugs
| Tracking |
| Elo Changes Reflect Entire Ranked Session Instead of Last Match |
| When playing multiple ranked matches in a single session, the points gained or lost will display the cumulative results of the entire session rather than only the most recently completed match. |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store | Xbox | PS5 |
| Tracking |
| Update stalls after 169123 patch preventing game launch |
| Following the 169123 update, some players may experience an issue where the game prompts them to update either the main title or one of their owned DLCs, but the update process stalls or becomes stuck partway through. As a result, players are unable to launch the game until the update completes. |
Platforms Affected:Microsoft Store |
| Tracking |
| Art of War Cinematics do not play on certain monitor types |
| We are aware of an issue where the Art of War cinematics do not play. When this issue occurs, the audio from the cinematic can still be heard. To workaround this issue, please turn off the 'Optimization for Windows Games' setting. This is located under Settings > System > Display > Graphics >Default Graphics settings |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store |
| Tracking |
| 'Failed to download match content' error |
| When attempting to spectate a game either by the aoe2.recs or by using the game ID link, spectators may recieve the error message 'Failed to download match content'. To try and workaround this issue please restart the title and try again. |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store |
| Tracking |
| Unable to access Deluxe Edition content on Game pass |
| Some player on Game pass may encounter an issue where they are unable to access the Deluxe Edition Add-On Civilizations after installing the DLC. There is no workaround at this time. |
Platforms Affected:Microsoft Store | Xbox |
Crashes
| Tracking |
Crash occurring for players whose system language is set to anything that dose not use English characters. |
|
Players whose systems and platforms are configured to use non-English characters have reported experiencing crashes upon launching the title following the 143421 update. As a temporary workaround for this issue please navigate to Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region > Administrative Language Settings and then select Change System Local located under Language for non-Unicode programs. In the following window enable the option called Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support. After this is done, try relaunching the game again. Should the issue continue please reach out to Customer Support and confirm that the workaround did not resolve the issue. |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store |
Connection Issues
| Tracking |
| Crossplay invites not working |
|
We are aware that some players are experiencing difficulties when attempting to send in-game invites to users on different platforms, resulting in the invited user being unable to join the match. As a temporary workaround, console users are advised to restart the game. If you or the other player are on PC, please try sharing an external invite link using the Match ID or Lobby code. |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store | Xbox | PS5 |
| Tracking |
| Error Loading into Queued Multiplayer Match |
We are aware of an issue where players may receive several error messages or difficulties while queuing for a multiplayer match. This then results in players receiving a notification that they've been penalized for disconnecting—despite not leaving the match intentionally. We're actively investigating this issue currently, and we appreciate your patience while we work toward a solution. |
Platforms Affected:Steam |
| Tracking |
| Loss of functionality when a spectated player resigns from match. |
| Players are unable to spectate other players remaining in the match. There is no workaround at this time. |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store | Xbox |
Performance Issues
Fixed Issues
These are issues which we presume to be fixed as of a recent update. If you continue to encounter the issue, please visit the official Age of Empires forum to report your experience:
| Fixed |
| Units fail to follow queued commands |
| Fixed in Update 169123 |
Platforms Affected:Steam |
| Fixed |
| The Last Chieftains achievements automatically unlock after update 169123 |
| Fixed in Minor Update 169409. With this fix it should be noted that this may cause some previous content achievements to trigger prematurely if any The Last Chieftains' achievements were previously unlocked. Additionally any achievements prematurely unlocked due to the previous issue will unfortunately remain unlocked. |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store | Xbox | PS5 |
| Fixed |
| Voice chat defaults to "On" unexpectedly for some players. |
| Fixed in Minor Update 169652 |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store | Xbox | PS5 |
| Fixed |
| Enemy castle in the Devapala campaign mission Desire shows up as the same color as the player |
| Fixed in Update 170934 |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store | Xbox | PS5 |
| Fixed |
| Incorrect voice audio for Inca Priestess |
| Fixed in Update 170934 |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store | Xbox | PS5 |
| Fixed |
| Custom mods fail when host readies up, booting other players from lobby/match |
| Fixed in Minor Update 175278 |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store |
| Fixed |
| Low quality audio with some Bluetooth devices |
| Fixed in Update 177723 |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store |
| Fixed |
| Multiplayer crashes on Xbox |
| Fixed in Update 177723 |
Platforms Affected:Xbox |
| Fixed |
| AI Script error message |
| Fixed in Update 177723 |
Platforms Affected:Steam | Microsoft Store |
| Fixed |
| Disappearing / invisible units or buildings |
| Fixed in Update 177723 |
Platforms Affected:Xbox |