Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition has received a new expansion, The Baltic Powers, adding the Danes and Poles as playable civilizations alongside new game modes, Challenge Scenarios and more than 25 maps. The expansion launched on September 10 for PC through Steam and the Microsoft Store, following an open beta earlier this summer. Forgotten Empires and World’s Edge developed the DLC, with Xbox Game Studios publishing it.
The Baltic Powers focuses on northern and eastern Europe, particularly the struggle for influence around the Baltic Sea. The Danes represent the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway and are built around economic intelligence, naval control and defensive options, while the Poles represent the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with an economy centered heavily on agriculture and cavalry. Both civilizations include their own unique units, technologies, cards and bonuses.
The Danish civilization starts with a Customs House that can generate income from other players’ shipments, while resource crates are stored there to reduce pressure on deck space. Denmark also receives cheaper Age advances and Royal Guard upgrades for all military land units, although it cannot use Revolutions. Its military and defensive options include Snaphane and Gunboat levies, Round Churches and Watch Houses, giving the civilization a mix of economic information, naval strength and territorial defense.
The Poles take a different approach by encouraging players to build a large agricultural economy around Folwarks while strengthening the Sejm parliament as their population expands. Their military identity is strongly tied to cavalry, with the mounted Hetman and Winged Hussars forming some of the civilization’s signature units. Players can also pursue different historical paths through Polish Revolutions, including the Cossack Hetmanate and Duchy of Warsaw.
Two new Challenge Scenarios are also included. Commonwealth Charge tasks players with defending the Polish-Lithuanian realm while using Winged Hussars and controlling nearby villages to expand resources and population. Havana Heat instead places players in command of a Spanish defense against a British assault, with the objective of inflicting 1,000 casualties while protecting the Town Center and preventing enemy artillery from becoming established.
The expansion introduces two additional game modes, Regicide and Independence. Regicide revolves around eliminating enemy Regents for an instant victory, with Regents unable to hide inside buildings and therefore forced to fight or evade attackers. Independence removes the usual Home City structure and XP progression, changing civilization bonuses and requiring players to build their strategy without relying on Home City shipments.
Map variety is another major part of the DLC. The Baltic Powers includes 20 new thematic maps spanning areas from the Baltic Sea to the North American Arctic, alongside three new Historical Maps covering the Livonian War, the Dano-Swedish Wars and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The expansion also unlocks access to selected maps from previous DLC, including Baltic, Danish Straits, Scandinavia, Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales and Finland.
Players also gain more than 50 hero customizations through Hero Cosmetic Pack Vol. 2. These cover Explorers, War Chiefs, Monks, Hetmans and Princes across multiple civilizations, including fresh appearances for the new Danish Explorer and Polish Hetman. Some previously exclusive cosmetic rewards are also being made available through the pack.
The Baltic Powers arrives after the Age of Empires III community spent several weeks testing the expansion through a Steam open beta. World’s Edge said when announcing the DLC in July that the project was developed in response to continued interest from Age III players and was intended to provide new strategic matchups, map variety and reasons to return to the game. The expansion requires the base version of Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition to play.
With its two civilizations, new rulesets, historical scenarios and large map expansion, The Baltic Powers represents one of the more substantial additions Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition has received in recent years. Rather than focusing on a single civilization pack, it broadens several areas of the game at once, adding new strategic options for both standard matches and more specialized modes.
