CH.FD · 0380 READ 04.27 · 18:05 PT DISPATCH · Nº 0380 · RESEARCH NOTE Age of Empires is still the cleanest loop Research note: the live Age franchise in 2026 is not nostalgia on a shelf. It is a still-updating strategy network: AoE II balance and naval changes, AoE IV expansions, Mythology pantheons, console paths, esports, and a huge player base still practicing the gather-build-advance loop. Age of Empires is still interesting because the loop is brutally legible: scout, gather, build, defend, advance, commit. The official Age II learn-to-play page says the quiet part plainly: this is real-time strategy w…