The Silver Seas is the expansion where Age of Wonders 4 finally treats water as a place instead of a road. A culture that plants cities on open ocean, a trade system that turns every outpost into a connection, and six pirate captains who will sell you their stolen technology if you can stand them long enough.
It released on 3 November 2026 at $24.99, alongside the Manta update, free for every owner of Age of Wonders 4. That split matters: trade, water and Sword and Staff are all free. If you have not bought anything, the base game is free to play from 10 AM PT on 5 November to 10 AM PT on 9 November on Steam and Xbox.
Inside the box
| In The Silver Seas ($24.99) | In the free Manta update |
|---|---|
| Mercantile culture and its two Organisations | Trade Routes for every culture |
| Aqualon and Sharkkin forms | 20-point embark, water outposts |
| Four tomes and their units | Sword and Staff for Magic Fighters |
| Bond of the Free Captains dwelling | Chilled status and balance pass |
| Ocean Happenings, wonders, landmarks | Quality of life and multiplayer fixes |
The expansion is built around one culture and four tomes. Mercantile is the first culture that can found a city on deep water; its two subcultures share a unit line only in the middle. The tomes do not overlap: one controls, one converts kills into summons, one steals, one freezes the map.
Before you set sail
- Check your version. The launch build is 1.017.001.126767. On an older build the trade panel does not exist yet.
- Budget draft, not just gold. A route costs draft, scaled by distance in movement points. Water routes are almost always the cheapest way to a distant city.
- Pick a subculture before your first outpost. Barony claims land and fields a sturdy front line; Cartel hides routes and flanks. There is no switching later.
- Do not settle the first water province you see. Water outposts only become cities under Mercantile.
The number that changes how you play
Twenty. Embarking used to consume all of a unit's movement with a floor of 12; since Manta it costs a flat 20 movement points. On a fresh unit that is most of a turn. Crossing water is now a decision you make unit by unit. Embarked units also pay movement to turn, and a full reversal eats whatever is left.
Straight answers
- Do I need the base game? Yes. This is an expansion.
- Is the free weekend the expansion? No, it is Age of Wonders 4 itself.
- Is Manta free forever? Yes, for every owner. It is a patch.
- New victory condition? No.
Where to start
Start with what the expansion actually adds, then the price breakdown. If you are already convinced, open the Mercantile culture and keep trade routes in a second tab, the culture makes little sense without that system. Here for the ships? Go straight to water combat and the free captains who will sell you a better one. Picking a tome? Start with Hydromancy; Piracy is the fun one.