As the fourth installment within the Age of Empires franchise, gameplay in Age of Empires 4 is similar to its predecessors. Players take one civilization among multiple factions and try to outlast other civilizations across four Ages. Each Age gives players access to new units, buildings, and technologies provided players get to unlock them first. This transforms much of Age of Empires 4 gameplay into a race against time, where popular multiplayer strategies involving early strikes before enemies snowball into stronger factions in later Ages.