Subscriptions — Aoe2 Validating

It sounds like it’s checking if you paid for Xbox Game Pass or DLC—but that’s only half the story. In reality, this process does three things:

There I was. 200 population. 40 Elite Mangudai, micro’d to perfection. A mass of Hussars queued for the final raid. The enemy Goth player had just spammed their final Huskarl wave into my Onagers. aoe2 validating subscriptions

In some cases, overlay software like MSI Afterburner or RivaTuner can cause the validation screen to crash. Try disabling these before launching. It sounds like it’s checking if you paid

The "Validating Subscriptions" message in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition aoe2 validating subscriptions

On a good day, validation takes 5–10 seconds. You barely notice it before jumping into lobbies or the ranked queue.