You can now earn college credit by playing educational content in Age of Empires 4 thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and The University of Arizona. No, really.
Read our in-depth article about this course: How Age of Empires IV Is Changing Education
First announced all the way back in 2017, Age of Empires 4 promised to provide players with all sorts of great content like the addition of The Holy Roman Empire and The Rus as playable factions. A roadmap revealed late last year spoke of all sorts of interesting updates on the way. Now, a new batch of content will actually allow you to earn college credit.
How You Can Earn a College Credit in Age of Empires 4
Let's get the bad news out of the way: no, you will not be able to earn college credit only by playing Age of Empires 4 -- there's some other work you'll have to do, too. That said, playing a certain portion of this popular RTS game will contribute towards that goal.
The "University of Arizona enhanced experience" accompanies the game's campaign mode. As you play through the campaign, you'll learn about real-world history through accompanying modules called "Illuminated Histories." Students who are enrolled at The Unversity of Arizona or Arizona Online can then get tested on their knowledge according to the original announcement from late last year.
Successful completion of this task will earn you one credit hour at UArizona, although you don't have to actually go to the university to enjoy the other educational benefits -- this content is free for everyone to experience right now according to today's announcement on Steam.
Of course, you'll need to own the game to get the full educational experience -- you can buy Age of Empires 4 for PC and consoles for $59.99 or your regional equivalent.