Age of Empires

Age of Empires launched in 1997 from Ensemble Studios under Microsoft, part of the first wave of real-time strategy games built around growing a civilization from scratch. Players gather resources, build a settlement and advance through historical ages, with each civilization carrying its own units and bonuses drawn from real history. Campaigns took the form of historical vignettes built around actual leaders and campaigns, setting the series apart from its fantasy-strategy competitors. Playable civilizations included the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Babylonians, among others, each with its own units and bonuses. The same year's Rise of Rome expansion added further civilizations and set the template for the series' later expansions.

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999) shifted the setting to the Middle Ages and became, for many players, the series' definitive form thanks to balanced civilizations, varied campaigns led by figures such as Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan, and the The Conquerors expansion. Age of Empires III (2005) moved into the colonial gunpowder era and added a home-city mechanic that players upgraded across games. Alongside the numbered line came the spin-off Age of Mythology, which swapped history for mythology and gods with their own wonders and built its own loyal following.

After Ensemble Studios closed in 2008 the series stalled for a while; the free-to-play Age of Empires Online (2011) failed to find lasting success and was eventually shut down. The turnaround came with remastered Definitive Editions, which brought modernized graphics and balance to the older games and reignited a competitive community, especially around Age of Empires II, which became one of the most-watched strategy games on streaming platforms.

Age of Empires IV (2021), this time from Relic Entertainment, returned to the Middle Ages and paired the series' classic principles with modern production, with campaigns covering the Hundred Years' War and the Mongol conquests, while the mobile Age of Empires Mobile brought the brand to smartphones as well. Alongside Warcraft and Command & Conquer, Age of Empires helped define the RTS genre, and its second entry remains one of the most-played titles in its category to this day.