Outside of NDA/confidentiality, maybe it’s just safer saying ‘no comment’ if they want it to be a surprise? Most places do that.
I mean once you deny that it’s AoW4 people are no longer going to be expecting that. People like yourself will not be as surprised when they release a new sci-fi game instead. ;)
All we know for sure is that it’s a turn based strategy game that will appeal to AoW fans. And they said something about merging multiple prototypes and tech together for it, which seems to hint at a new system.
That said, you’d think it was kind of smart to capitalize on the good name they built with AoW3! Whichever way it goes I’m pretty keen to see what they’ve got.