Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft for Windows on 27 September 1999 in North America. It was planned as a one-year project, but the team needed a second year, so Ensemble released The Rise of Rome in 1998 as a stopgap. In the end the game took two years, 50 full-time staff and under $10 million.
The game is set in the Middle Ages, with 13 civilizations moving through four Ages over a 1,000-year span. Its campaigns follow William Wallace (the tutorial), Joan of Arc, Saladin, Genghis Khan and Barbarossa.
Konami ported it to PlayStation 2; the port reached the UK on 2 November 2001 and Japan on 14 February 2002. The HD Edition followed on 9 April 2013 and the Definitive Edition in November 2019. In 2007 IGN ranked it the 10th best PC game of all time.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsJapanese Wikipedia gives 30 September 1999 for the US release. | Windows | Sep 27, 1999 | Microsoft | 1 |
| EU | Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsUK and Australia. | Windows | Oct 29, 1999 | Microsoft | 1 |
| WW | Age of Empires II: Gold EditionMac OS version of the Gold Edition. | Mac | Oct 31, 2001 | — | 1 |
| EU | Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsUK; Australia 9 November 2001. | PlayStation 2 | Nov 2, 2001 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings | PlayStation 2 | Feb 14, 2002 | Konami | 1 |
| WW | Age of Empires II: HD Edition | Windows | Apr 9, 2013 | Microsoft | 1 |
| WW | Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition | Windows | Nov 14, 2019 | Xbox Game Studios | 2 |
Also known as: Age of Kings WW1AoK WW1Age of Empires II: The Conquerors WW1Age of Empires II: HD Edition WW1Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition WW1
Box art by region
NA Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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ContentHD Edition
The 2013 HD Edition bundles the original game and The Conquerors and adds new campaigns, civilizations, widescreen support and Steam multiplayer; critics said it changed very little.1
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GraphicsDefinitive Edition
The 2019 Definitive Edition contains all earlier content and expansions with new 4K graphics.1
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Bug fixOriginal
The original release had no patch process; the first patch arrived 11 months after launch.1
Translations
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Spanish Official
Xbox Game Studios2019Windows · Definitive EditionReleased · complete
The Definitive Edition offers Spanish (Spain) and Latin American Spanish with full audio.2
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Japanese Official
Microsoft2000Windows · The ConquerorsReleased
The expansion The Conquerors was released in a Japanese-language version on 22 September 2000.3
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Russian Official
Xbox Game Studios2019Windows · Definitive EditionReleased · partial
The Definitive Edition includes Russian text without Russian voice-over; the HD Edition also listed Russian.2
Where to play legally today
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Steam Purchase
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
2019 remaster for Windows and macOS with all earlier content
Checked: 2026-10-132store.steampowered.com
How to run it today
The Definitive Edition runs on current Windows and macOS. For the original, PCGamingWiki recommends UserPatch, which adds widescreen support and a color fix for Windows Vista and 7; SafeDisc copy protection on some retail discs does not work on Windows Vista and later.
- Age of Empires II on PCGamingWiki pcgamingwiki.com
Best version
The Definitive Edition (2019) contains all earlier content and expansions with 4K graphics and is sold through Steam, the Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass.1
Reception
Metacritic 92/100. Two million copies shipped within three months and the game topped sales charts in seven countries; it won GameSpot's Strategy Game of the Year for 1999. The HD Edition scored 68/100.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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