# Age Of Empires Age of Empires is a historical real-time strategy game series that debuted on PC in 1997 and grew into a long-running franchise with dedicated fan sites and active modding communities. The second game in particular built an online following strong enough to push Microsoft to fund a community-made expansion in 2013. ## Overview Age of Empires is a historical real-time strategy series originally built by Ensemble Studios, in which players pick a civilization, gather food, wood, gold, and stone, and win by military conquest, economic dominance, or building a wonder[3]. The franchise mixes recognizable historical eras (Stone Age through Iron Age in the first game, medieval Europe in the second, colonial exploration in the third) with unit rosters tied to real cultures, from Britons and Franks to Mongols and Aztecs[6]. The look most fans reference is the second game: isometric sprite art, villagers hauling wood, walls of trebuchets, and the trademark "Wololo" chant that plays when a monk converts an enemy unit[4]. Fan hubs like Age of Empires Heaven appeared in 1997 alongside the first release and stayed active for years, feeding an ecosystem of strategy guides, tournaments, and mods[5]. What makes Age of Empires stand out from other 1990s RTS titles is how tightly the fan community and its publisher eventually merged. An unofficial mod called Forgotten Empires was picked up by Microsoft and turned into an official Age of Empires II expansion in 2013, and the same team went on to build later official content with the publisher's backing[1][2]. ## How It Spread The series expanded through the 2000s. Age of Empires III shipped October 18, 2005, focused on the age of exploration with eight European civilizations[7]. Its expansions The War Chiefs (October 17, 2006) added three Native American factions, and The Asian Dynasties (October 23, 2007) added three Asian factions[9]. Ensemble Studios also produced Age of Mythology in October 2002, swapping history for Greek, Norse, and Egyptian pantheons, plus its Titans expansion in 2003[5]. The franchise moved to handhelds and free-to-play in the following years. Age of Empires: The Age of Kings for Nintendo DS launched November 14, 2006 as a turn-based tactics take on the RTS, and Age of Empires: Mythology followed on DS in November 2008. Age of Empires Online launched August 16, 2011 on Games for Windows Live with a microtransaction model, and its servers ran until July 1, 2014. The Windows-app spin-off Age of Empires: Castle Siege followed on September 17, 2014, later coming to iOS on May 20, 2015[5]. The biggest cultural moment came from fans, though. Hidden Path Entertainment's HD Edition launched on Steam on April 9, 2013, led by Matt Pritchard, the original Age of Empires II lead programmer at the now-defunct Ensemble Studios[4]. Microsoft then folded the fan team Forgotten Empires (whose 2011 unofficial mod inspired the deal) into an official expansion called The Forgotten, released November 7, 2013[1]. On April 9, 2015, HD producer Ryan Chaply announced a further Forgotten Empires expansion, later revealed as The African Kingdoms, featuring civilizations including the Malians and the Berbers[2]. ## How to Use Age of Empires as a common gaming touchstone typically shows up in three ways: quoting the "Wololo" monk conversion line in unrelated contexts, sharing screenshots of ridiculous castle rushes or wonder builds, and citing specific civilizations (the Franks, the Mongols) as shorthand for a strategy style. On Steam Workshop and modding sites like ModDB, players still trade custom maps and rebalanced unit rosters built on top of the HD Edition[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Age Of Empires? A historical real-time strategy series from Ensemble Studios where players build civilizations, gather resources, and defeat rivals through conquest, economy, or wonders[3]. ### Where did Age Of Empires come from? The first game was released on PC on October 26, 1997[6]. ### What does Age Of Empires mean? The name refers to the in-game structure of advancing your civilization through historical ages, from Stone Age to Iron Age in the first title[6]. ### How do you use Age Of Empires? Players pick a civilization, gather food, wood, gold, and stone, train units, and advance through technology ages to defeat opponents by conquest, economy, or wonders[3]. ### Is Age Of Empires still popular? The HD Edition on Steam kept the second game active with mods and workshop content years after its original 1999 launch[4]. ### Who made Age of Empires? The original games were developed by Ensemble Studios; the HD Edition was developed by Hidden Path Entertainment, led by original Age of Empires II lead programmer Matt Pritchard[4]. ### When did Age of Empires II come out? Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings launched September 30, 1999, and its expansion The Conquerors followed on August 24, 2000[3][8]. ### What was the Forgotten Empires mod? An unofficial 2011 fan-made expansion for Age of Empires II that Microsoft later turned into the official expansion The Forgotten in 2013[1]. ### Did Age of Empires have a mobile game? Yes, Age of Empires: Castle Siege launched as a Windows app on September 17, 2014, and reached iOS on May 20, 2015[5]. ### What happened to Age of Empires Online? The free-to-play spin-off launched August 16, 2011 on Games for Windows Live and shut its servers on July 1, 2014[5]. ### How many civilizations were in Age of Empires IV? Age of Empires IV shipped with eight civilizations including the English, Chinese, Mongols, Delhi Sultanate, French, Abbasid Dynasty, Holy Roman Empire, and Rus[10]. ## References 1. [https://www.polygon.com/2015/4/8/8373753/age-of-empires-ii-hd-expansion]() 2. [https://www.pcgamer.com/age-of-empires-2-is-getting-a-new-expansion/]() 3. [https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/age-of-empires-ii-the-age-of-kings]() 4. [https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/age-of-empires-ii-hd-edition]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/age-of-empires]() 6. [https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/age-of-empires]() 7. [https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/age-of-empires-iii]() 8. [https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/age-of-empires-ii-the-conquerors-expansion]() 9. [https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/age-of-empires-iii-the-warchiefs]() 10. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Age%20Of%20Empires]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/age-of-empires Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library