The game introduced a large number of features, such as home cities.

For the first game in the series, see Age of Empires (video game).

The sequel, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, was set in the Middle Ages, while its expansion focused partially on the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

The subsequent three games of Age of Empires III explored the early modern period, when Europe was colonizing the Americas and several Asian nations were on the decline.

The newest installment, Age of Empires Online, takes a different approach as a free-to-play online game utilizing Games for Windows Live.

A spin-off game, Age of Mythology, was set in the same period as the original Age of Empires, but focused on mythological elements of Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology.

A fourth main installment in the series, Age of Empires IV, is under development, and is planned for release in Autumn 2021.

Critics have credited part of the success of the series to its historical theme and fair play; the artificial intelligence (AI) players have fewer advantages than in many of the series competitors.

Age of Empires covers the events between the Stone Age and the Classical period, in Europe and Asia.

Its expansion, The Rise of Rome, follows the formation and rise of the Roman Empire.

The Age of Kings and its Nintendo DS spin-off follow Europe and Asia through the Middle Ages.

Age of Empires III and its first expansion, The WarChiefs, take place during the European colonization of the Americas.

Its second expansion, The Asian Dynasties, follows the rise of Asia in the same period.

Age of Empires Online focuses on the Greek and Egyptian civilizations.

GameSpot described it as a mix of Civilization and Warcraft.

The game gives players a choice of 12 civilizations to develop from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.

The expansion pack, The Rise of Rome, published by Microsoft on October 31, 1998, introduced new features and four new civilizations, including the Romans.

Although the two games had contained many software bugs, patches resolved many of the problems.

GameSpot criticized a confused design, while Computer and Video Games praised the game as strong in single and multiplayer.

The Academy of Interactive Arts Sciences named Age of Empires the 1998 Computer Strategy Game of the Year.

For several years, the game remained high on the sales charts, with over three million units sold by 2000.

The Rise of Rome sold one million units in 2000 10 and attained 80 as an aggregate score from GameRankings.

It will feature overhauled graphics with support for 4K resolution, a remastered soundtrack, and other gameplay improvements, and was planned to be released on October 19, 2017, but was delayed until February 20, 2018, when it was released on the Microsoft Store.

On May 30, 2019, Microsoft announced that the Definitive Edition would be coming to Steam in the future, along with the Definitive Editions of both Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III.

It allows players to choose one of 13 civilizations, from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

It added new units and five new civilizations, including two Mesoamerican civilizations: the Maya and the Aztec.

The Age of Kings was a bigger critical success than the first two games, with Game Rankings and Metacritic scores of 92.

Microsoft shipped out more than two million copies to retailers, and the game received numerous awards and accolades.

Critics agreed that The Conquerors expanded well on The Age of Kings, though issues of unbalanced gameplay were raised.

The Age of Kings and The Conquerors won the 2000 and 2001 Computer Strategy Game of the Year awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts Sciences, respectively.

The Forgotten was later developed into an official expansion with SkyBox Labs and Forgotten Studios, and in November 2013 The Forgotten HD was released by Microsoft exclusively for the HD Edition on Steam.

A third expansion named The African Kingdoms was released by Microsoft in November 2015, also exclusively for the HD Edition.

A fourth expansion entitled Rise of the Rajas was released on 19 December 2016.

On August 21, 2017, Microsoft announced Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

He confirmed that the Definitive Edition was being developed by Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, and Wicked Witch Software.

It was released on November 14, 2019.

Age Of Empires 2 Wiki