"StarCraft was impossible to topple from its Korean throne" — Why an extra civ was added to Age of Empires 2 at the last minute

Age of Empires 2 Dev Reveals Why Korean Civ Was Added

A developer has shared how a last-minute decision affected Age of Empires 2: The Conquerors.

"StarCraft was impossible to topple from its Korean throne" — Why an extra civ was added to Age of Empires 2 at the last minute

The Age of Conquerors expansion didn't initially include a Korean civ, but StarCraft's popularity at the time forced Microsoft into a rushed decision.

Former Age of Empires Developer Says Microsoft Rushed Korean Civilization in The Conquerors DLC

Sandy Petersen, a former developer who worked on the Age of Empires series, recently shared an interesting anecdote about Microsoft’s role in the development of Age of Empires II: The Conquerors expansion. Petersen posted on X/Twitter, explaining how the decision to add the Korean civilization was influenced by business strategy rather than historical accuracy. According to Petersen, Microsoft insisted on including Koreans in The Conquerors DLC …