Age of Wonders 4 has gone to sea. The Silver Seas, the first expansion in the game's fourth expansion pass, is out now, Triumph Studios announced on Xbox Wire on November 3. Publisher Paradox Interactive had set that date when it revealed Expansion Pass 4 on October 1.
Built from player requests
In the Xbox Wire post, Triumph says Age of Wonders 4 is entering its fourth year and its fourth set of expansions, which makes it the longest-running game in the series in terms of ongoing support. The studio says The Silver Seas is themed around what players have asked for, and that players have wanted more seabound play since launch.
Cities on the water
The centrepiece is the new Mercantile culture. Triumph writes that it lets players place cities at sea and turn them into floating fortresses. Paradox's announcement describes a culture built on turning every deal, alliance and rivalry into profit, with cities on both land and sea.
There are two subcultures. According to Paradox, the Cartel are masters of information and manipulation who run camouflaged smuggling routes, while the Barony are wealthy trade princes who command armies and place bounties on their enemies. Triumph's post adds that the Barony use their fortunes to import whatever their empire needs.
Everything else in the box
Paradox lists the rest of the expansion as:
- four new Tomes for manipulating waterways, plundering rivals, summoning the souls of the damned and freezing the ocean
- a pirate dwelling with a range of possible captains, each with their own personalities, benefits, demands and stories
- new aquatic events, Landmarks, Ancient Wonders, sea Infestations and a new Magic Material
- new wildlife units, from electric crabs to schools of frenzied fish
- new music, a new interface skin and new realm options
Triumph also says it wrote a sea shanty for the release.
How to get it
According to Paradox's October 1 announcement, The Silver Seas is part of Expansion Pass 4, which costs $49.99, £41.99 or €49.99 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Buying the pass unlocks the Singer of Storms pack straight away, with its new premade ruler, Storm Seamare mount and customisation options, and the three expansions as each one is released.
The next two are already scheduled. Paradox says Court of the Archfey is due in the first quarter of 2027 with a new ruler type, form and story realms, followed by Forge of the Firstborn in the second quarter of 2027, focused on dwarves, crafting and a new forge mechanic.
Mason's take: To me, naval play often feels like the thinnest layer of a fantasy 4X game, so building a whole culture around it gives water a real job on the map rather than leaving it as the space between continents. Whether floating cities change how a map plays or just how it looks is the question worth answering once players have had a few campaigns with it.
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