The Byzantine Empire appeared in Age of Empires IV in the Sultans Ascend expansion. However, it appears that there is more content relating to the Byzantines.
The Macedonian Dynasty is my focus on my blog. I focus heavily on the Middle Byzantine Period, which overlaps with the Macedonian Dynasty which ruled from 867 A.D. to 1055 A.D. in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.
The Macedonian Dynasty was the apex of the Medieval Byzantine Empire, though a strong argument can be made for the Kommenian Dynasty, which helped to revitalize the empire after the Battle of Manzikert and the Crusades.
The inclusion of the Varangians as a variant civ is what I have been talking about as a way to introduce more people to Byzantine history. This is not the Greek side of the history, but the one that is hardly written about in the official view of the empire, the Norse influence on the empire. This adds texture to the game so that the factions are not just one note. While Age of Empires before the most recent game had differences between the civilizations, these were more minor in comparison to what we have now.
In my essay on the Byzantine Empire in Age of Empires IV, I explained how including olive oil as a unique resource helped to ground the civilization historically and holistically combine with the mechanics of play in a video game.
The Byzantine Army, especially after Basil II was much weaker, but made it up for it with recruiting mercenaries, of which became more important in the army. Age of Empires IV seems to understand the importance of such units in the armies. The variety of mercenaries in the Macedonian and Kommenian Army were showcasing the power of the state and its wealth. However, this was a sign of how the state was becoming more reliant on foreigners. Such reliance was also becoming quite clear in the economy, with Venetians and to lesser extent the Genoans getting duty free shipping in and out of the city of Constantinople.
In comparison with the older Age of Empires games, it seems that there is greater variety in these games. Such changes shows that the Age of Empire IV is a test bed for could be the next AOE game. The next Age of Empires game will probably more akin to Civilization than the earlier games. Civilization has also had a trend of Civilizations moving away from basic differences to having playstyles that are unique to that civilization. While some people may have issues with this, I see Age of Empires adopting this in the sequels.
Overall, I am satisfied with the way how the Byzantines and have been portrayed in the game.
Byzantine-Empire.com 