Remember when Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition’s Baltic Powers expansion got cancelled back in January 2025? Yeah, about that. It turns out the devs at Forgotten Empires and World’s Edge were just playing possum, because the DLC is very much alive, officially announced for September 10th, and there’s a free open beta running on Steam right this second.
The expansion brings two new playable civilizations to the table: Denmark and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Denmark is all about economic intelligence, naval control, and layered defense — basically the civ for people who like outthinking their opponents rather than just steamrolling them. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, on the other hand, is an agrarian powerhouse that turns economic momentum into devastating cavalry strikes. If you’ve ever wanted to unleash a horde of Winged Hussars at exactly the right moment, this is your civ.
There’s also a fresh batch of maps inspired by real historical conflicts like the Livonian War and the Dano-Swedish Wars, plus two brand-new game modes. Regicide gives you an instant win if you manage to assassinate the enemy’s Regent — a high-risk, high-reward strategy that’s going to lead to some absolutely chaotic multiplayer matches. Independence mode takes the opposite approach, forcing you to grind out a victory without any help from your home city. No shipments, no safety net, pure strategy.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth even gets its own unique challenge scenario where you have to defend your realm against relentless attacks while timing your Winged Hussar strikes perfectly to survive. It sounds like the kind of scenario that’ll make you sweat even on lower difficulties.
Here’s the kicker though — if you’ve been on the fence about AoE3, the free trial version currently available on Steam is set to disappear on August 13th. So you’ve got a narrow window to try before you buy, and with the Baltic Powers beta running until August 6th, there’s genuinely no better time to jump in and see what you’ve been missing.
It’s rare to see a cancelled DLC get un-cancelled like this, and honestly, it’s a refreshing change from the usual industry pattern of announcing things way too early and then quietly sweeping them under the rug. The devs admitted the original announcement was premature, took their time, and came back with something real. That’s how you handle it.
The Baltic Powers expansion launches September 10th on Steam. The open beta is live now through August 6th — just opt in through the Steam client and you’re good to go.
Jordan Hayes is a staff writer at SteamGamer.net covering PC gaming news, hardware, and the latest from the Steam ecosystem. When not writing, Jordan is probably buried in a roguelike or arguing about GPU prices.
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