Wikipedia

Age of Empires

This article is about the video game series. For the first game in the series, seeAge of Empires (video game).For the similarly titled book, seeThe Age of Empire: 1875–1914.

Age of Empiresis a series of historicalreal-time strategyvideo games, originally developed byEnsemble Studiosand published byXbox Game Studios.The first game wasAge of Empires,released in 1997. Nine total games within the series have been released so far as of October 28, 2021.

Age of Empires
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Xbox Game Studios
Tencent Games
Platform(s)
First releaseAge of Empires
October 15, 1997
Latest releaseAge of Mythology: Retold
September 4, 2024
Spin-offsAge of Mythology

Age of Empiresfocused on events in Europe, Africa and Asia, spanning from theStone Ageto theIron Age;the expansion game explored the formation and expansion of theRoman Empire.The sequel,Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings,was set in theMiddle Ages,while its expansion focused partially on theSpanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.The subsequent three games ofAge of Empires IIIexplored theearly modern period,whenEurope was colonizing the Americasand several Asian nations were on the decline. Another installment,Age of Empires Online,takes a different approach as a free-to-play online game utilizingGames for Windows Live.A spin-off game,Age of Mythology,was set in the same period as the originalAge of Empires,but focused on mythological elements ofGreek,Egyptian,andNorse mythology.The fourth main installment in the series,Age of Empires IV,was released on October 28, 2021, also focusing on the Middle Ages.[1][2]

TheAge of Empiresseries has been a commercial success, selling over 25 million copies. Critics have credited part of the success of the series to its historical theme and fair play; theartificial intelligence (AI)players have fewer advantages than in many of the series' competitors.

Games

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Release timeline
1997Age of Empires
1998Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome
1999Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
2000Age of Empires II: The Conquerors
2001
2002Age of Mythology
2003Age of Mythology: The Titans
Age of Empires Gold for Pocket PC
2004
2005Age of Empires II Mobile
Age of Empires III
2006Age of Empires II Deluxe Edition Mobile
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
2007Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Age of Empires III (J2ME)
2008Age of Empires: Mythologies
2009
2010Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties (J2ME)
2011Age of Empires Online
2012Age of Empires Online: Fertile Crescent
Age of Empires Online: Northern Invasion
2013Age of Empires II: HD Edition
Age of Empires II: The Forgotten
2014Age of Mythology: Extended Edition
Age of Empires: Castle Siege
2015Age of Empires II: The African Kingdoms
Age of Empires: World Domination
2016Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon
Age of Empires II: Rise of the Rajas
2017
2018Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
2019Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
2020Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
2021Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Lords of the West
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition – United States Civilization
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition – The African Royals
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Dawn of the Dukes
Age of Empires IV
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition – Mexico Civilization
2022Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Dynasties of India
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition – Knights of the Mediterranean
2023Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Return of Rome
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – The Mountain Royals
Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend
2024Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Victors and Vanquished
Age of Mythology: Retold
Age of Empires Mobile
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Chronicles: Battle for Greece
2025Age of Mythology: Retold – Immortal Pillars
Age of Empires IV – Knights of Cross and Rose

The games in the series focus on historical events throughout time.Age of Empirescovers the events between theStone Ageand theClassical period,in Europe and Asia. Its expansion,The Rise of Rome,follows the formation and rise of theRoman Empire.The Age of Kingsand itsNintendo DS spin-offfollow Europe and Asia through theMiddle Ages.The Age of Kings'expansion pack,The Conquerors,is set during the same period, but also includes scenarios about the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire,El Cid,andAttila the Hun.Age of Empires IIIand its first expansion,The WarChiefs,take place during theEuropean colonization of the Americas.Its second expansion,The Asian Dynasties,follows the rise of Asia in the same period.Age of Empires Onlinefocuses on theGreekand Egyptian civilizations. The series' spin-off,Age of Mythology,and its expansion pack,The Titans,are set during theBronze Age,but focus onmythologyas their themes, rather than history.

Main series

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Age of Empires

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Main article:Age of Empires (video game)

Age of Empires,released on October 15, 1997,[3]was the first game in the series, as well as the first major release fromEnsemble Studios.[4]It was one of the first history-based real-time strategy games made,[5]utilizing theGeniegame engine.GameSpotdescribed it as a mix ofCivilizationandWarcraft.[6]The game gives players a choice of 12 civilizations to develop from theStone Ageto theIron Age.The expansion pack,The Rise of Rome,published byMicrosofton October 31, 1998, introduced new features and four new civilizations, including theRomans.Although the two games had contained manysoftware bugs,patchesresolved many of the problems.[7][8]

Age of Empireswas generally well received, despite some highly negative reviews.GameSpotcriticized a confused design, whileComputer and Video Gamespraised the game as strong in single and multiplayer.[9]TheAcademy of Interactive Arts & SciencesnamedAge of Empiresthe 1998 "Computer Strategy Game of the Year".[10]For several years, the game remained high on the sales charts, with over three million units sold by 2000.[11]The Rise of Romesold one million units in 2000[11]and attained 80% as anaggregatescore fromGameRankings.[12]

In June 2017, Adam Isgreen, creative director ofXbox Game StudiosannouncedAge of Empires: Definitive Editionat theElectronic Entertainment Expo 2017.It features overhauled graphics with support for4K 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 theMicrosoft Store.[13][14][15]On May 30, 2019, Microsoft announced that the Definitive Edition would be coming toSteam,along with the Definitive Editions of bothAge of Empires IIandAge of Empires III.[16][17]

Age of Empires II

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Main articles:Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings,Age of Empires II: HD Edition,Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition,Age of Empires II: The Conquerors,andAge of Empires II: The Forgotten

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings,released on September 30, 1999, used theGenie game engine,and had gameplay similar to its predecessor.[18]Age of Kingsis set in theMiddle Ages,from theDark Agesto theImperial Age.It allows players to choose one of 13 civilizations, from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.[19]

On August 24, 2000, Microsoft published the expansion,The Conquerors.It added new units and five new civilizations, including twoMesoamericancivilizations: theMayaand theAztec.[20]The Age of Kingswas a bigger critical success than the first two games, with Game Rankings andMetacriticscores of 92%.[21][22]Microsoft shipped out more than two million copies to retailers, and the game received numerous awards and accolades.[23]Critics agreed thatThe Conquerorsexpanded well onThe Age of Kings,though issues of unbalanced gameplay were raised.[24]The Age of KingsandThe Conquerorswon the 2000 and 2001 "Computer Strategy Game of the Year" awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, respectively.[25][26]

In April 2013,Age of Empires II: HD Editionwas released on theSteamdigital distributionplatform for Windows operating systems. TheHD Editionincludes both the original game and the expansionThe Conquerors,as well as updated graphics for high-resolution displays.[27]Originally a fan-made modpack made forThe Conquerors,Age of Empires II: The Forgottenwas an unofficial expansion that added a new campaign, playable civilizations, maps, and quality of service updates. The Forgotten was later developed into an official expansion withSkyBox Labsand Forgotten Empires, and in November 2013The Forgotten HDwas released by Microsoft exclusively for theHD EditiononSteam.[28]A third expansion namedThe African Kingdomswas released by Microsoft in November 2015, also exclusively for theHD Edition.[29]A fourth expansion entitledRise of the Rajaswas released on December 19, 2016.[30]On August 21, 2017, Microsoft announcedAge of Empires II: Definitive Edition.[31]

In June 2019, Adam Isgreen, now the Franchise Creative Director forAge of Empires,shared more information regarding theAge of Empires II: Definitive Editionat theElectronic Entertainment Expo 2019.He confirmed that the Definitive Edition was being developed by Forgotten Empires,Tantalus Media,andWicked Witch Software.He announced that the game would feature new 4K graphics,Xbox Livesupport for multiplayer, exclusive achievements, four new civilizations (Bulgarians,Cumans,Lithuanians,Tatars[32]), three new campaigns, a new spectator mode and tournament features, and additional quality of life improvements. It was released on November 14, 2019.[33][34]Bert Beeckman, co-founder of Forgotten Empires, confirmed on June 12 thatAge of Empires II: HD Editionwould not be removed from sale after the release ofAge of Empires II: Definitive Edition.[35]

Age of Empires III

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Main articles:Age of Empires III,Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition,Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs,andAge of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

Age of Empires IIIwas released on October 18, 2005 and was built on an improved version of theAge of Mythologygame engine with the most significant changes being the updated graphics engine and the inclusion of theHavok physicsmiddlewareengine.[36][37]The game is set in the period between1421 and 1850,and players can choose one of eight European nations. The game introduced a large number of features, such ashome cities.Described by Ensemble Studios as "an important support system to your efforts in the New World", home cities help provide the player with resources, equipment, troops, and upgrades. They can be used across multiple games, and upgraded after each battle; the feature was compared to arole-playing gamecharacter by Ensemble Studios.[38]The first expansion toAge of Empires III,The WarChiefs,was released October 17, 2006. Most gameplay changes in the expansion pack were small, but it introduced three new civilizations, with a focus onNative Americans.[39]Most notable was the introduction of theWarChiefunit.[40]The second expansion,The Asian Dynasties,went on sale October 23, 2007. It was a jointly developed product;Big Huge Gameshelped Ensemble Studios develop the game, withBrian ReynoldsjoiningBruce Shelleyas lead designer.[41]The game expanded theAge of Empires IIIuniverse into Asia, and introduced three new civilizations.[42]Reception towardsAge of Empires IIIwas mixed;Game Revolutiondescribed it as "about as much fun" as a history textbook, whileGameZoneargued it was "one of the best looking games, much less an RTS game, that is out on the market currently".[43]It sold more than two million copies, and won theGameSpy"real-time strategy game of the year" award.[44][45]The WarChiefsfailed to equal the success of its predecessor, with a lower score on both Game Rankings and Metacritic, andThe Asian Dynasties'score was lower still with 80%.[46][47][48][49]

Severalcollectors' editionsofAge of Empires IIIincluded a hardcoverartbook.The last page of the artbook has a pictorial depiction of the series; theRoman numeralsbelow each panel range from I to V, indicating the series would include anAge of Empires IVandAge of Empires V.Ensemble Studios employeeSandy Petersensaid that the image "was total speculation on [their] part".[50]

In 2008, Microsoft announced they were closing down Ensemble Studios following the completion ofHalo Wars.Some of its employees would form a new team as part ofMicrosoft Studios.[51]Kevin Unangst, director ofGames for Windows,denied it was the end of theAge of Empiresseries, tellingThe San Francisco Chronicle"we're very excited about the future potential forAge of Empires".[52]Edgeconfirmed, in an interview with Microsoft's corporate vice president of interactive entertainment, Shane Kim, that Microsoft continued to ownAge of Empiresand that they had plans to continue the series.[53]However, Bruce Shelley wrote in his blog that he would not be part of any new studios formed.[54][55]

Following the announcement of remastered editions of previous games, Microsoft announcedAge of Empires III: Definitive Editionon August 21, 2017.[31]On May 30, 2019, the company revealed that theDefinitive Editionwould come toSteamin the future, along with the Definitive Editions of bothAge of EmpiresandAge of Empires II.[16][17]On August 28, 2020, Microsoft announced at Gamescom 2020 thatAge of Empires III: Definitive Editionwould release officially on October 15, 2020.[56]

On January 23, 2020, Microsoft announced a closed beta for early February of that year. Betas ran on Steam and the Microsoft Store, with each beta session including a small piece of the game.[57]The first closed beta session began on February 11, 2020, and ended on February 19, 2020.[58][59]The second closed multiplayer session began on March 31 and ran until April 7.[60]The game was released on October 15, 2020.

Age of Empires IV

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Main article:Age of Empires IV

On August 21, 2017, Microsoft announcedAge of Empires IV,developed byRelic Entertainment.[61]The title was officially released on October 28, 2021,[1]with eight civilizations available at launch: theAbbasid Dynasty,theChinese,theDelhi Sultanate,theEnglish,theFrench,theHoly Roman Empire,theMongols,and theRus.[62] The game is set during theEarly Middle Agesto the earlyRenaissance,[63]with the earliest appearance of any civilization being in the year 750. The game features four Ages, the same as those inAge of Empires II— Dark Age, Feudal Age, Castle Age, and Imperial Age. This title incorporates several features and mechanics ofAge of Empires IIthat were changed or removed inAge of Empires III.

Like otherAge of Empiresgames,Age of Empires IVhas received several new civilizations in updates. Recent updates have added theOttomans,Malians,Byzantines,andJapanese,along with several variants of civilizations already in the game: theAyyubids,Jeanne d'Arc,Order of the Dragon,andZhu Xi'sLegacy, for a total of 16 civilizations at present.

Spin-off games

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Main articles:Age of Mythology,Age of Mythology: The Titans,Age of Empires: The Age of Kings,Age of Empires: Mythologies,andAge of Empires Online

Age of Mythologyshared many elements of gameplay with the main series,[64]and was considered a part of the series, despite its different focus.[65][66]The campaign inAge of Mythologytells the story of anAtlantean,Arkantos,and his quest to find why his people are out of favor withPoseidon.[67]Microsoft published the game on October 30, 2002,[68]and its expansion,The Titans,on October 21, 2003.[69]The Titansfeatured the Atlanteans as a new civilization.[70]Its campaign is shorter than previous expansions, and centers onKastor,son of Arkantos, who falls for the lies of thetitansand frees them fromTartarus.[71]Age of Mythologysold more than one million units in four months.[72]It scored 89% on Game Rankings and Metacritic.[73][74]The Titansfailed to equal the sales success ofAge of Mythology,although critics rated it highly.[75][76]

Backbone EntertainmentdevelopedAge of Empires: The Age of Kingsas aturn-basedgame for theNintendo DS.Majesco Entertainmentpublished the game on February 14, 2006. It is similar to other turn-based games, such asAdvance Wars,but with a gameplay based on itsPCcounterpart.[77]Age of Empires: The Age of Kingsscored 80% on Game Rankings and Metacritic.[78][79]Konamibrought a game of the same title to thePlayStation 2around five years earlier than the DS version, but the game had little promotion, and sold poorly.[80]

On August 16, 2010, Microsoft announcedAge of Empires Online,which was a free-to-play Games for Windows Live online game, it developed in collaboration withRobot Entertainment.It featured Free-to-play experiences viaGames for Windows LIVEas well as: A persistent online capital city that lives and grows even when you're offline, Cooperative multiplayer quests, trading and a level-based system that lets you progress at your own pace.[81]Premium content could be earned or purchased, such as access to blueprints and special items, as well as more quests and features. In September 2013, it was announced that the game would remain functional until July 1, 2014, after which it would be shut down due to the content being too expensive to maintain.[82]

On April 13, 2014,Age of Empires: World Dominationwas announced. It was developed by KLab Games for theiOS,AndroidandWindows Phone.[83]It was released on December 7, 2015,[84]with the service terminated on November 30, 2016.[85]

On August 25, 2014,Age of Empires: Castle Siegewas announced. It is atouch-basedgame developed bySmoking Gun Interactive.It was released on September 17, 2014, for the Windows PC andWindows Phone 8.[86][87]

Development

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Historical elements

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Thedevelopmentphases of theAge of Empiresgames were similar in several ways. Due to the games being based on historical events, the team often had to do large amounts of research.[88]However, the research was not in depth, which, according toAge of EmpiresdesignerBruce Shelley,is "a good idea for most entertainment products".[88]Shelley also said that Ensemble Studios took most of the reference material from children's sections atlibraries.He pointed out the goal was for the players of the game to have fun, "not [its] designers or researchers".[88]At theGames Convention Developers Conferencein 2007, Shelley continued with this thought and explained that the success of the series laid in "making a game which appealed to both the casual and hardcore gamer".[89]Shelley also remarked theAge of Empiresgames were not about history in itself, but rather "about the human experience;"[89]they focused not simply on what humans had done but on what they could do in the future such as "going into space".[89]Ensemble Studios developedAge of Mythologyin a different way than the previous two games. The team had worried they "couldn't get away" with a third historical-based game, and chose mythology as the setting after they had discussed several options.[90]

Artificial intelligence

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Theartificial intelligence(AI) used in theAge of Empiresseries has been developed and improved regularly by designers. AI specialistDave Pottingernoted the development team gave the AI in the original game a very high priority, and spent over a year working on it. He said that the AI in the game relies on tactics and strategies to win, instead of "cheating" by giving bonus resources to itself, or tweaking its units to be stronger than normal.[91]Pottinger later noted that theAge of Empiresseries team took great pride in their AI playing a "fair game"[92]and didn't know what the player was doing and had to play by the same rules as its human opponents.[93]

Age of Empiresallows players to choose to play either along specialized, story-backed conditions or as individual battles against the AI (and other players). Choosing to battle against the AI – rather than following the storyline – allows the AI to adapt to players' strategies and even remember which games it won and lost. The AI eventually overcomes players' strategies and easily destroys their villages after several games. For instance, inAge of Empires III,this is referred to as playing a "Skirmish". However,Age of Empires IIIallows players to refine their strategies further against the AI by "building a Deck", which allows players to replace "Home City" shipments with improved alternatives.

InAge of Empires II: The Conquerorsthe AI was given a high priority, the result being the "smart villager" feature, which was included in subsequent games of the series. After building a structure that stores or produces resources, smart villagers would proceed to collect resources related to the structure, such as crops from farms or ore from exposed deposits.[94]

Age of Mythology: The Titanslets players use an AIdebuggerwhen creating custom scenarios; players can change the settings of computer players and make them act according to certain patterns.[95]More basic changes to the AI had previously been available in the series' first two games.[96]

Graphics and visuals

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The graphics and visuals ofAge of Empiresimproved with each successive release. From the original release to the second,Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings,noteworthy improvements gained praise from several critics.[97][98][99]With the release ofAge of Mythologythe praise continued,[97][100][101][102]and the fourth release,Age of Empires III,garnered even more.[103][104][105]

GameSpot praised the improved graphics[97]in the second release,Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.Eurogamerwelcomed its introduction of female villagers[106]as compared with the original male only version.Allgamepraised the advanced grouping and path-finding systems in the second release.[98]Despite the improved graphics, Allgame complained that units inAge of Empires II: The Age of Kingswere at times difficult to distinguish from one another,[98]a point numerous reviewers agreed on.[97][107]Nevertheless, Game Revolution wrote that the second release was "the best looking of the 2D RTS games out there right now".[99]

The graphics continued to improve inAge of Mythologyand was praised by a majority of reviewers.IGNranked the graphics in this third release "a joy to watch... awesome".[100]GameSpotagreed, also rating the graphics nine out of ten.[97]Game Revolutionalso agreed,[101]andPC Gamerstated that the graphics in the third release "are packed with detail".[102]

The trend in improved graphics continued well into the next release,Age of Empires III,much to the delight of reviewers.IGNstated: "After seeing the screenshots, our jaws hit the floor at the amount of detail."[103]1UPdescribedAge of Empires IIIas "one of the most beautiful games you will put on your computer for the foreseeable future".[104]GameSpyagreed, stating: "Age III's graphics are unmatched in the strategy genre. "[105]Age of Empires IIIbuilds on and introduces new features to the prior release,Age of Mythology,such as the inclusion of the award-winning[108]Havok physics simulation middleware[109]game engine for the Windows version and PhysX for the Mac OS X. The innovative result is that pre-created animations are avoided; instead events are calculated according to the physics engine. Consequently, views of events like building destruction and tree felling are not pre-recorded.GameSpotalso admired the graphics in the fourth release but complained about "the awkward unit behavior".[110]Other graphical features of the game include bloom lighting and support forpixel shader3.0.[111]

GameSpy awardedAge of Empires IIIthe "Best Graphics" award atGameSpy's "Game of the Year 2005".[112]

Music

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Stephen Rippyhas been the series' music director since the first game. He has had occasional help from his brother, David Rippy, as well as Kevin McMullan.[113]He created the original music inAge of Empireswith sounds of instruments from the periods in the game.[114]These sounds came from actual instruments, and theirdigital samples.[114]The tunes were the result of extensive research on the cultures, styles, and instruments used.[114]Rippy said that sound development onThe Age of Kingswas easy, since there was knowledge of the instruments used in the Middle Ages. Therefore, they were able to reproduce the tunes for the soundtrack of the game.[115]InAge of Mythology,an orchestral instrumentation was used, instead. According to McMullan, the team also collected large numbers of audio recordings fromzoos,and created "a massive sound library of [their] own material".[116]The music ofAge of Empires IIIwas similar toThe Age of Kings,in which the team used more historical instruments; Rippy noted the team used instruments such as "bagpipesand field drums "to give it a realistic feel.[113]

Collaboration

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Ensemble Studios worked together withBig Huge Gamesto developThe Asian Dynasties,Age of Empires III's second expansion. This was the first joint venture for both teams. The reason for them doing so was compatible schedules: Ensemble Studios was busy with other projects—particularlyHalo Wars—while Big Huge Games' real-time strategy team had few projects at that time. Big Huge Games did most of the work, but Ensemble Studios designers Greg Street andSandy Petersenjoined in thebrainstorming,and had control over the final product.[117]Both studios had roles in testing the game before its release.[118]

Reception and legacy

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Aggregate review scores
As of December 31, 2019.
Game GameRankings Metacritic
Age of Empires (1997) 87%[119] 83[9]
Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome (1998) 80%[12] –
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999) 92%[21] 92[22]
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors (2000) 89%[120] 88[24]
Age of Empires III (2005) 82%[121] 81[43]
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings (2006)(Nintendo DS) 80%[78] 80[79]
Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs (2006) 81%[46] 81[47]
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties (2007) 80%[48] 80[49]
Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery (2007)(Board Game) - -
Age of Empires Online (2011) 71%[122] 70[123]
Age of Empires II: HD Edition (2013) 71%[124] 68[125]
Age of Empires II: The Forgotten (2013) – –
Age of Empires: Castle Siege (2014) 40%[126] –
Age of Empires II: The African Kingdoms (2015) - -
Age of Empires: World Domination (2015) - -
Age of Empires II: Rise of the Rajas (2016) - -
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (2018) 65%[127] 69[128]
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (2019) 69%[129] 81[130]
Age of Mythology (2002) 89%[73] 89[74]
Age of Mythology: The Titans (2003) 83%[75] 84[76]
Age of Mythology: The Boardgame (2003) - -
Age of Empires: Mythologies (2008)(Nintendo DS) 79%[131] 78[132]
Age of Mythology: Extended Edition (2014) 69%[133] 66[134]
Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon (2016) - -

TheAge of Empiresseries has been a commercial success. As of 2008, five of its games have each sold more than one million copies. According toGamasutra,Age of Empireshad sold more than three million copies, andThe Rise of Romesold one million copies as of 2000.[11]Around the same time, Microsoft announced that they shipped over two million copies ofThe Age of Kings.[23]In 2003, Microsoft announced the sales of one million copies forAge of Mythology.[72]By 2004, prior to the release ofAge of Empires III,theAge of Empiresfranchise had sold over 15 million copies.[135]On May 18, 2007, Ensemble Studios announced that two million copies ofAge of Empires IIIhad been sold.[44] Games in the series have consistently scored highly on video gamereview aggregatorwebsitesGameRankingsandMetacritic,which collect data from numerous review websites. As noted in the adjacent table, the highest rating game isAge of Empires II: The Age of Kings,receiving a 92% score from both sites.[21][22]

Critics have creditedAge of Empiresfor influencing real-time strategy (RTS) games such asRise of Nations,Empire Earth,andCossacks.[136][137]Star Wars: Galactic Battlegroundswas also influenced by the series: it utilized theGeniegame engine,asAge of EmpiresandAge of Empires II: The Age of Kingshad, and was considered by critics to be a very close replica to the games;IGNbegan their review with the statement "I loveAge of Star Wars,I meanStar Empires.Whatever it's called, I dig it. "[138]andGameSpotwrote that "fundamentals of theAge of Empires IIengine are so intact inStar Wars: Galactic Battlegroundsthat veterans of that game can jump right in ".[139]In October 2005, Shelley commented on the impact of the series. In aGameSpyinterview, he explained that parents would "tellEnsemble Studiosthat their kid is reading books about ancient Greece because they enjoy playing with thetriremesso much, or that they want to check out books about medieval history because [the] game taught them what atrebuchetwas ".[140]

Shelley has said that the key to the success of the games was its innovation, rather than imitation of its peers. He also claimed the unique elements in the games "helped establish the reputation of Ensemble Studios as masters of the real-time strategy genre".[141]Mark Bozon ofIGNwrote in his review ofThe Age of Kings,"TheAge of Empiresseries has been one of the most innovative real-time strategy games for PC in the last decade or so. "[142]Gamenikki called Ensemble Studios "the developer that started it all" when they talked about how muchAge of Empires IIIhad done to advance the real-time strategy genre.[143]Shelley has acknowledged the success and innovation ofAge of Empireshelped to ensure Ensemble survive its early periods since startup.[144]In 2005, Shelley complained of critics holding an "innovation bias" against the series; citing the 60% score fromComputer Gaming World,he said that despiteAge of Empires IIIbeing "perhaps the best selling PC game in the world" at the time, reviewers expected "something really new" and rated it harshly.[145]

Bungiechose Ensemble Studios to developHalo Wars,an RTS game based on theirHaloseries.They said that one of the reasons they chose to work with Ensemble was because of theAge of Empiresseries.[146]They also noted that Ensemble was the perfect choice "to realize the original vision ofHalo",which started life as an RTS.[146]

In 2024, theRed Bull Wololo: El Reinado Age of Empires IItournament achieved the second-highest viewership in the game's history, with a peak of 85,800 concurrent viewers. The event, held at theCastle of Almodóvar,Spain,featured eight top players, including TheViper and Hera, who won the final 5-1. This marked a 12% increase in peak viewership compared to the previous series, reflecting the growing popularity ofAge of Empires IIin theesportsscene.[147]

References

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  2. ^"Age of Empires IV launching October 28th with Xbox Game Pass for PC, Available for Pre-order Now – Age of Empires".ageofempires.June 13, 2021.RetrievedAugust 3,2021.
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