Key Highlights:
- The Baltic Powers is now available to pre-order on Steam and the Microsoft Store with a 15% launch discount ahead of its 10 September release.
- World’s Edge has detailed new features including Fish Traps for all civilisations, Fishing Holes, Timber Importers and new regional allies.
- The expansion adds the Danes and Poles, two Challenge Scenarios, Regicide and Independence modes, more than 25 maps and over 50 hero customisations.
Pre-orders for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition – The Baltic Powers are now live on Steam and the Microsoft Store with a 15% discount. The expansion launches on 10 September 2026.
World’s Edge opened pre-orders on 13 August alongside a new trailer and a much more detailed breakdown of the expansion. The discount remains available until the DLC launches on 10 September.
The Baltic Powers adds two European civilisations: the Danes, representing Denmark-Norway, and the Poles, representing Poland-Lithuania. Both have unique units, technologies, cards and economic systems.
The Danes are designed as a defensive and mercantile civilisation. Their Customs House generates revenue from other players’ shipments, while cheaper age advancement helps fund their economy and military. Round Churches can protect gatherers, with Snaphane and Gunboat levies providing additional defence on land and at sea.
The Poles instead centre their economy on Folwarks and population growth. Lower building costs support expansion, while a larger population strengthens the Sejm parliament. Their military options include Winged Hussars, a mounted Hetman and historical paths involving Cossack uprisings or the return of the Teutonic Knights.
Several smaller mechanics have now been detailed beyond the headline civilisations.
New native allies include the Scottish House of Stuart, Sámi and Inuit. Players can also encounter Harpooners, Whaling Ships and Qivittoqs, while new mercenary options include Gallowglasses, mounted Cranequiniers and early Fortified Wagon artillery.
The environment also becomes more interactive. Seals and Walruses join the wildlife, while players can break through ice to access Fishing Holes. Capturable Lighthouses provide another map feature, while Timber Importers can strengthen wood supplies.
Perhaps the most notable system addition is Fish Traps, which Fishing Boats can harvest and which World’s Edge says will be available to all civilisations.
I think Fish Traps are the most interesting addition in the new breakdown because their relevance extends beyond the Danes and Poles, giving established civilisations another economic consideration on water-focused maps.
The expansion also contains two tactical Challenge Scenarios. Commonwealth Charge tasks players with defending the Polish-Lithuanian realm and timing Winged Hussar attacks, while Havana Heat puts Spain against a British assault with a target of inflicting 1,000 casualties while protecting the Town Center.
Two additional game modes alter normal match rules. Regicide makes eliminating the opposing Regent an instant victory condition, and Regents cannot hide inside buildings. Independence removes Home City support and adjusts civilisation bonuses around that restriction.
More than 25 maps are included across new and returning battlefields. The new locations stretch from the Black Sea into the Arctic, alongside historical maps based on conflicts including the Livonian War and the Dano-Swedish Wars. The DLC also includes more than 50 hero customisations.
The Baltic Powers has taken an unusual route towards release. World’s Edge originally announced an unnamed Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition DLC for late 2024 during its February 2024 New Year, New Age presentation, with imagery pointing towards Poland and Denmark.
The studio later cancelled that project in January 2025. World’s Edge said the DLC had been announced before its content had been built and described the original announcement as premature.
The Baltic Powers then appeared in July 2026 with the Danes and Poles as its two headline civilisations. World’s Edge has not explicitly described it as the same cancelled project, although the civilisation choices closely match what had previously been teased.
The timing also marks another change for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition. World’s Edge had set 13 August 2026 as the end date for the game’s free Steam trial, while existing owners remain unaffected.
The Baltic Powers releases for PC on 10 September 2026.
