Age of Mythology: Retold Is Free to Play Until April 27 — 50% Off the Base Game and New Aztec DLC Out Now (2026)

Three things are happening simultaneously with Age of Mythology: Retold right now, and all three have an expiry date.

The base game is free to play on Steam, Xbox, and the Microsoft Store until April 27. The base game is 50% off at $14.99 during the same window. And the new Obsidian Mirror DLC — bringing the Aztec civilization to the game for the first time — launched April 21 and is live right now.

This is the best entry point the game has ever offered. Here is exactly what you get, what it costs, and what to play first.

Get Age of Mythology: Retold at the Best Price →

Free Weekend — Platforms, Times, and What Is Included

What is free: The Standard Edition of the base game. All campaigns, multiplayer modes, the Arena of the Gods mode, and all base civilizations (Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Atlantean) are accessible during the free window.

What is not included free: The Immortal Pillars DLC (Chinese), Heavenly Spear DLC (Japanese), and the new Obsidian Mirror DLC (Aztec). These require purchase separately.

Progress carries over. If you play during the free weekend and then buy the game, your campaign progress, multiplayer stats, and any purchased DLC all remain intact. You pick up exactly where you left off.

The 50% Discount — Is $14.99 Worth It?

The base game normally sells for $29.99. During the free weekend window, it is $14.99 — the lowest price since launch.

Steam reviews: Very Positive — 90% positive across nearly 10,000 reviews.

What you get for $14.99:

• Full 50-mission campaign spanning Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology
• Competitive and co-op multiplayer across randomly generated maps
• Arena of the Gods — 35 mythic skirmishes as a legendary hero, solo or co-op
• Full modding and map editor support
• Controller support — the full RTS experience plays cleanly on a gamepad

If you play for an hour during the free weekend and enjoy it, buying at $14.99 before April 27 is the correct decision. After Sunday, it goes back to $29.99.

Lock In the 50% Price — Get the Best Deal on AoM: Retold →

Obsidian Mirror DLC — The Aztec Civilization, Explained

Released April 21, 2026, Obsidian Mirror is the most requested expansion in the game's community history — and it delivers.

Steam reviews: Very Positive — 85% positive from 128 reviews in the first week.

Three New Major Gods

Quetzalcoatl — The feathered serpent, focused on cultural advancement and ranged power. His playstyle rewards patience and positioning.

Tezcatlipoca — The smoking mirror, master of illusion and deception. His abilities manipulate enemy behavior, disrupt formations, and create tactical openings that other civilizations cannot replicate.

Huitzilopochtli — The god of war and sacrifice. Aggressive, high-reward playstyle built around trading unit lives for divine power surges. Best for players who want to push constantly.

The Tonalli System — Aztec's Core Mechanic

Every unit that dies in battle releases Tonalli, the Aztec essence of life. Your units harvest it automatically. Tonalli fuels divine Favor and empowers your gods — meaning every battle, even a losing one, generates resources.

This creates a fundamentally different risk calculus compared to Greek or Egyptian play. Trading units is never purely negative.

Fear and Illusion Mechanics

Two new tactical systems exclusive to the Aztecs:

Fear — Applies status effects that reduce enemy unit effectiveness, disrupt attack patterns, and cause morale-based penalties in large groups.

Illusion — Lets you create false unit appearances and misdirect enemy forces. Particularly powerful in multiplayer where opponents are reacting to visual information.

12-Mission Campaign

The Obsidian Mirror campaign follows the divine rivalry between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca after the destruction of Aztlan. Alongside Huitzilopochtli, players lead the Aztec people south to build a new empire while Tezcatlipoca crosses continents recruiting allies for a final confrontation.

The DLC is priced at $19.99 separately, or included in the Expansion Pass.

Get the Obsidian Mirror DLC — Best Price Available →

What to Play First This Weekend

If this is your first time with AoM: Retold, play in this order:

1. The Greek campaign — This is the original story mode. Arkantos, the Atlantean admiral, serves as your protagonist across the full mythological world. Best introduction to the core mechanics and the strongest single-player narrative.

2. Arena of the Gods — Once you understand the basics, Arena of the Gods drops you into hero-focused skirmishes against increasingly difficult mythic enemies. Playable solo or co-op. Excellent for learning advanced unit and god power interactions without the pressure of full multiplayer.

3. Multiplayer skirmish vs. AI — Set the AI to Easy or Normal and practice the build orders for whichever civilization interests you most before going online.

Free Weekend vs. Buying — The Decision Tree

Play free and skip buying if: You are not sure RTS games are for you and want a zero-commitment trial.

Buy at $14.99 if: You enjoy the first hour of the Greek campaign and want to keep your progress. At half price, this is the cheapest the game has been since launch. The window closes April 27.

Add Obsidian Mirror if: You are an existing player who has finished the base content and want a new civilization to master. The Aztec mechanics are meaningfully different from anything in the base game.

Buy the Expansion Pass if: You want Immortal Pillars (Chinese), Heavenly Spear (Japanese), and Obsidian Mirror (Aztec) in one purchase. Best long-term value if you plan to invest more than 20 hours.

How to Access the Free Weekend

On Steam:

1. Open Steam (browser or desktop app)
2. Search: Age of Mythology Retold
3. Click Play Game on the store page — the Free Weekend button replaces the price automatically
4. Install from your Library

On Xbox:

1. Open the Xbox Guide
2. Go to Store → Home → Subscriptions
3. Scroll to Free Play Days — Age of Mythology: Retold is listed
4. Select Install and launch once downloaded

On Microsoft Store (PC):

1. Open the Microsoft Store
2. Search: Age of Mythology Retold
3. Select the Free Trial / Free Weekend option

The Bottom Line

Age of Mythology: Retold earned a 90% Very Positive rating across nearly 10,000 Steam reviews for a reason. The original 2002 game was a classic. The Retold remake delivers that experience with rebuilt visuals, modernized UI, and the new Arena of the Gods mode — at no cost to try this weekend.

At $14.99 — half its normal price — the question is not whether it is worth buying. The question is whether you will still want it at $29.99 on Monday.

Get Age of Mythology: Retold at the Best Price Before April 27 →

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