Fix/Solution: AoE DE on Steam won't launch/start. No error message.

Hello!

I bought Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Steam and didn't get it to work at first. I tried to doubleclick on the game in the Steam library but it just shows "stop" or "running" for a second or two and then the game closes. I don't see any windows or error messages or anything. I tried to verify the installation (steam function) but everything seemed to be in order so the download wasn't corrupted.

I read tons of stuff online to browse to the game folder and click on some VC-file (visual C++ redistributable or something) but there wasn't any to be found.

I managed to figure out the cause of the problem and thought there'd be many other people who have this same issue and cannot find the answer online (not even on the Age of Empires DE support website in the FAQ sections).

The solution/fix (on Windows 10, Steam version of the game):

1. Browse to your game folder (mouse right-click on the Steam library entry and select "Manage" and "Browse local files"). The path should be similar to this: D:\Games\steamapps\common\AoEDE
2. Right-click on the file "AoEDE_s.exe" and select "Run as administrator". You should get a few popups to allow that file and possibly BattleServer.exe to access the internet (Windows Firewall). For some weird reason those prompts do not show up if you try to boot the game from the Steam library. I don't understand why.
3. Once you've allowed all of the game files to access the internet, the game should work perfectly in the future and no other maneuvers should be required in the future. Have fun and enjoy the game!

I know some FAQ sections mention to close any antivirus or firewall software but that just feels a little bit too unsafe and sometimes it's hard to figure out which exact files need that internet access. There might be more than one (like in this case 2-3 different files, not only the primary .exe file).

Hopefully I helped someone in search of an answer for a game they bought and couldn't get to work from the get-go.