Project: Age of Empires IV: Yue Fei’s Legacy

Client: Relic, Worlds Edge

We Did: Music Composition • Music Production  • Orchestra Recording – Sound Design – Audio Integration

Composers: Nicolai Patricio, Christian Wirtz, Alexander Röder, Matthias Wolf

The Sound of Legend: Scoring Age of Empires IV: Yue Fei’s Legacy

History doesn’t just live in books; it lives in the thunder of drums and the haunting cry of a bamboo flute. We are thrilled to finally pull back the curtain on one of our fantastic projects: composing and implementing the full audio experience for the Age of Empires IV expansion, Yue Fei’s Legacy.

From the first sketch of a melody to the final mix, our team lived and breathed the Song & Jin Dynasty for months. Here’s a look behind the scenes at how we brought this legendary general’s story to life.

A Global Symphony

Yue Fei’s story required us to record historic instruments as well as an enormous symphonic orchestra. Just like the fans are used to hearing in Age of Empires 4.

• The Power: We recorded a full symphony orchestra to provide the sweeping, cinematic foundation that Age of Empires fans expect.
• The Soul: To ensure cultural authenticity, we collaborated with master instrumentalists in China and across the globe. The distinct timbre of the Guzheng, pipa, and bamboo flutes were recorded in highest quality in China and all around the world to serve as the emotional heart of the score.

Beyond the Notes: Implementation & Cinematics

We didn’t just hand over a folder of MP3s. Our team was embedded in the development process, handling the technical implementation to ensure the music reacts dynamically to your gameplay. Whether you’re peacefully building your economy or engaging in a desperate siege, the score shifts seamlessly with your strategy.

Furthermore, we took the reins on the sound design and music for all campaign cutscenes. We treated these as mini-feature films, layering foley, environmental ambience, and a custom score to make Yue Fei’s rise and sacrifice feel visceral and immediate.

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“Our goal was to bridge the gap between historical reverence and modern gaming intensity. Every note played on a solo instrument in Shanghai had to feel right at home next to a brass section recorded in Europe.”

Age of Empires IV: Yue Fei’s Legacy is out now. Put on your best headphones—it’s time to lead.

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AimSound Studios Shanghai, China

GuZheng: Wu Hao 吴昊

Recording engineer: Tang Jian 唐舰

Flutes: Veronika Vitazkova

Pipa: Christian Wirtz

Orchestral Recordings: Budapest Art Orchestra

Orchestration: David Christiansen

Postpro and mix: Christian Wirtz

Sound Design: Philippe Spankus, Severin Schwarz

Audio Integration: Philippe Spankus

Release Trailer

Client: Relic

Composers: Alexander Röder, Matthias Wolf, Henning Nugel, Christian Wirtz, Nicolai Patricio, Dominik Morgenroth

Sound Designers: Severin Schwarz, Vincenzo Bellanova, Fabio Coressel, Michael Prechtl, Manik Möllers

Oud, Mandolin, Bouzouki: Christian Wirtz

Orchestra Recording: Budapest Art Orchestra

Orchestration: David Christiansen

Orchestral Mix & Session Production: Christian Wirtz

Summoning the Gods: Behind the Soundtrack of Age of Mythology: Retold and the Obsidian Mirror Expansion

When you are tasked with scoring a world where gods walk the earth and monsters clash in the thousands, the music cannot afford to be quiet. It needs to feel ancient, terrifying, and endlessly divine.

We are incredibly proud to pull back the curtain on one of our biggest audio undertakings yet: crafting the definitive soundtrack for Age of Mythology: Retold, as well as the dark, sprawling soundscapes for the brand-new campaign expansion, Obsidian Mirror.

From re-imagining iconic themes to giving a brand-new voice to the rising Aztec pantheon, we’ve spent months shaping an audio experience fit for the gods.

Retold: Modernizing a Mythic Classic

The original Age of Mythology holds a sacred place in strategy gaming history, and its music is a core part of that nostalgia. Our first challenge with Age of Mythology: Retold was balancing deep reverence for the past with modern production standards.

We didn’t just up-sample the old tracks—we rebuilt the musical foundation of the game from the ground up.

• Fully Symphonic Scope: We took the original motifs and exploded them into massive, fully symphonic arrangements. Every brass swell and choral chant was designed to make players feel the staggering scale of a Guardian rising or a God Power tearing across the map.
• Distinct Regional Textures: Whether you’re building a settlement in the Norse snowfields, defending the sands of Egypt, or marching through classical Greece, we ensured each civilization’s sonic footprint felt distinct by utilizing rare, era-accurate regional acoustic instruments.

Stepping Into the Smoke: The Obsidian Mirror Campaign

If Retold was about honoring a classic, the Obsidian Mirror expansion gave us a completely blank, blood-soaked canvas. Centered entirely on the highly anticipated Aztec pantheon, this 12-mission campaign demanded a fundamentally different sonic identity.

The mechanics of the expansion revolve around Tonalli (harvesting life force), sacrifice, and illusion. To capture that tone, our score had to feel vastly different from the European and Mediterranean structures of the base game.

The Instruments of Mesoamerica

To bring the Aztec empire to life, we bypassed traditional orchestral strings and focused on building an organic, rhythmically driven soundscape. We leaned heavily into:

• Pre-Columbian Woodwinds: Haunting clay flutes, ocarinas, and specialized death whistles to mirror the tactical “Fear and Illusion” mechanics deployed on the battlefield.
• Thunderous Percussion: The driving force of the combat tracks relies on the deep, booming resonance of traditional huehuetl and teponaztli log drums.
• The Sibling Rivalry: Musically, the soundtrack mirrors the central narrative clash between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca. While Quetzalcoatl’s themes incorporate lighter, wind-based textures and soaring melodies, Tezcatlipoca’s motifs are dark, heavy, and jagged—shrouded in ambient low-end sound design to signify his domain of night and chaos.

Listen Close: The Sound of Cosmic Conflict

“When a player sacrifices a unit to gain favor, or when Tezcatlipoca steps through the Obsidian Mirror, the music has to communicate the terrifying gravity of that moment. We wanted the Aztec soundtrack to feel alive, raw, and fiercely distinct from anything else in the franchise.” — [Matthias Wolf, Lead Composer]

The gods have ascended, and the mirrors are smoking. Both the base game soundtrack of Age of Mythology: Retold and the intense new themes of Obsidian Mirror are out now. Pull up the game, crank up your speakers, and experience the power of the pantheons.

Client: Relic

Composers: Matthias Wolf, Alexander Röder, Henning Nugel, Christian Wirtz, Nicolai Patricio, Simon Wiebe, Armin Haas, Jochen Flach

Sound Designers: Severin Schwarz, Michael Prechtl, Fabio Corossel

Scoring History: Crafting the Music and Sound Design for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

There are few gaming franchises with a legacy as rich as Age of Empires. For decades, the clatter of swords, the ring of gathering resources, and the sweeping orchestral themes have defined the strategy genre.

That is why we are absolutely thrilled to share this wonderful project: we have officially designed the music and sound design for the cinematic campaign cutscenes across three epic expansions for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!

From the dusty battlefields of ancient Greece to the dense rainforests of South America, our mission was to create an immersive audio landscape that honors history while maximizing emotional impact.

Bringing historical warfare to life through immersive audio. Quelle: Age of Empires

A Journey Across Eras and Continents

Scoring a game like Age of Empires II isn’t just about making things sound “epic.” It requires deep historical research, unique instrumentation, and a careful balance between authentic traditional textures and modern cinematic power.

Here is a look at the incredible worlds we had the privilege to bring to life through sound:

1. Chronicles: Alexander the Great (2025)

• The Civilizations: Macedonians, Thracians, Puru
• The Sonic Approach: For this massive step backward into classical antiquity, we stepped away from traditional medieval tones. We blended ancient Mediterranean modalities with thunderous, driving percussion. For the Puru, we integrated rich, resonant ancient Indian textures to emphasize the clash of vastly different superpowers.

2. Three Kingdoms (2025)

• The Civilizations: Shu, Wei, Wu, Jurchens, Khitans
• The Sonic Approach: This expansion demanded immense emotional nuance. To score the legendary drama and political intrigue of early China, we utilized traditional solo string and wind instrumentation, contrasted against heavy, metallic sound design for the brutal sieges and cavalry charges of the Northern Jurchen and Khitan tribes.

3. The Last Chieftains (2026)

• The Civilizations: Mapuche, Muisca, Tupi
• The Sonic Approach: Our most recent project took us to the heart of South America. This soundtrack relied heavily on organic textures, utilizing indigenous woodwinds, deep skin drums, and environmental soundscapes. The sound design focuses on the dense, untamed terrain, weaponizing the sounds of nature alongside specialized war cries and acoustic weaponry.

Balancing Blade and Bow: The Sound Design Process

Every arrow zip, trebuchet launch, and armor clink in a campaign cutscene has to tell a story. In our studio, we approached the sound design by focusing on tactile realism.

When a commander speaks to their troops, the ambient world matters. We crafted bespoke atmospheric backgrounds for each campaign—whether it was the humid, insect-laden air of the Amazon basin or the echoing mountain passes of Macedonia. By layering authentic, foley-recorded armor rustles and weapon impacts, we ensured that the stakes felt incredibly high before the player even took control of their units.

“Working on a legendary franchise like Age of Empires is a dream come true, but it’s also a massive responsibility. The fans know these worlds intimately. Every instrument we chose and every sword clash we mixed was designed to respect the history while blowing the audience away.” — [Matthias Wolf, Lead Composer]

Experience the Campaigns Now

We want to extend a massive thank you to the developers and the incredible audio teams who trusted us with their vision.

All three expansions are now live. Fire up your game, jump into the new campaigns, and put on your favorite pair of headphones. We can’t wait for you to hear the world we’ve built.

Have a project that needs a distinct sonic identity? From cinematic scores to bespoke sound design, let’s talk about how we can bring your world to life. [Contact us today].