# Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Age of Empires IV – Patch 15.3.8338 - Product: Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/age-of-empires-iv-anniversary-edition) - Vendor: World's Edge - Date: 2026-02-04 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1466860/view/540003346670420653 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/age-of-empires-iv-anniversary-edition/releases/2026-02-04-age-of-empires-iv-patch-15.3.8338 What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog. Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'. --- - **fixed** — Improved spawn logic for monsters in Map Monsters mode preventing them from spawning in inaccessible locations - **changed** — Monster discovery now results in the monster despawning with a visual effect - **changed** — Updated 1v1 Ranked map pool with King of The Hill replaced by Socotra, Ancient Spires replaced by Confluence, Relic River replaced by Rocky River, Ocean Gateway replaced by Baltic, and Sunkenlands replaced by Prairie - **changed** — Updated Team Ranked map pool with Mountain Clearing replaced by Hedgemaze, Lake Side replaced by Mongolian Heights, Canyon replaced by Canal, Waterholes replaced by Forest Ponds, and Prairie replaced by Himeyama - **removed** — Removed Nomadic Ridges and Nomadic Tarns from the Quickmatch FFA map pool - **changed** — Increased number of map downvotes in Quickmatch from 15 to 25 - **added** — Distributed bulk reward of Perk Points for players who lost Perk Points from Masteries after the initial release of Dynasties of the East Happy New Year, _Age IV_ players! 2026 is going to be another big year for _Age of Empires IV_, and we look forward to sharing more details in the future about the[ two DLCs](https://www.ageofempires.com/news/whats-coming-in-2026-for-age-of-empires-and-age-of-mythology/) we announced late last year. For now, we wanted to start the year off with some additional bug fixes and balance changes, as well as follow-up with a bulk reward of Perk Points for players who may have lost Perk Points from Masteries after the initial release of _Dynasties of the East_. Read on to learn more about what’s new with this patch! > **This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!** [](https://www.ageofempires.com/news/age-of-empires-iv-patch-15-3-8338/) > > 💬 **DISCUSS:** [ Official Forum](https://forums.ageofempires.com/c/age-of-empires-iv/) 💬 **DISCUSS:** [ Steam Forum](https://steamcommunity.com/app/1466860/discussions/) 🗣 **JOIN:** [ Official Discord](https://discord.gg/ageofempires) > Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make _Age of Empires_ what it is today! —The _Age of Empires_ Team > Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed. > --- ` ##### ◆Patch 15.3.8338◆ ` --- > ##### Season Twelve ##### Next Event: Something in the Water The relaxing waves have brought back old friends but with new rewards! They might be monsters, but you’ll be the one sinking your teeth into the challenges while you take on the competition. **Improvements to the Map Monsters mode: ** - Improved spawn logic for the monsters preventing them from spawning in inaccessible locations. - Monster discovery results in the monster despawning with a visual effect. **Login February 6th at 10:00am PT (1:00pm ET / 18:00 UTC) through April 2nd at 10:00AM PT (1:00 PM ET / 17:00 UTC) to claim your bounty! ** ##### Map Pool Rotation We are excited to roll out the second mid-season map pool update of the season, bringing several classic favorites into rotation while refreshing a few maps that have been in the pool for a while. This rotation includes rotations across both Solo Ranked and Team Ranked! **1v1 Ranked Map Pool ** - King of The Hill –> Socotra - Ancient Spires –> Confluence - Relic River –> Rocky River - Ocean Gateway –> Baltic - Sunkenlands –> Prairie **Team Ranked Map Pool ** - Mountain Clearing –> Hedgemaze - Lake Side –> Mongolian Heights - Canyon –> Canal - Waterholes –> Forest Ponds - Prairie –> Himeyama **General Map Updates** - Nomadic Ridges & Nomadic Tarns removed from the Quickmatch FFA map pool. - Number of map downvotes in Quickmatch increased from 15 to 25. > > **This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!** [](https://www.ageofempires.com/news/age-of-empires-iv-patch-15-3-8338/) > > ##### :alertalert: **DISCLAIMER** This list is subject to change and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence. For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our [social channels](https://twitter.com/ageofempires). >