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 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, and Attila the Hun.

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

[9] The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named Age of Empires the 1998 "Computer Strategy Game of the Year".

[12] In June 2017, Adam Isgreen, creative director of Xbox Game Studios announced Age of Empires: Definitive Edition at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017.

[24] 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.

[25][26] In April 2013, Age of Empires II: HD Edition was released on the Steam digital distribution platform for Windows operating systems.

The HD Edition includes both the original game and the expansion The Conquerors, as well as updated graphics for high-resolution displays.

[27] Originally a fan-made modpack made for The Conquerors, Age of Empires II: The Forgotten was an unofficial expansion that added a new campaign, playable civilizations, maps, and quality of service updates.

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.

[16][17] On August 28, 2020, Microsoft announced at Gamescom 2020 that Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition would release officially on October 15, 2020.

[61] The title was officially released on October 28, 2021,[1] with eight civilizations available at launch: the Abbasid Dynasty, the Chinese, the Delhi Sultanate, the English, the French, the Holy Roman Empire, the Mongols, and the Rus.

[65][66] The campaign in Age of Mythology tells the story of an Atlantean, Arkantos, and his quest to find why his people are out of favor with Poseidon.

[70] Its campaign is shorter than previous expansions, and centers on Kastor, son of Arkantos, who falls for the lies of the titans and frees them from Tartarus.

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.

[88] However, the research was not in depth, which, according to Age of Empires designer Bruce Shelley, is "a good idea for most entertainment products".

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.

In Age of Empires II: The Conquerors the AI was given a high priority, the result being the "smart villager" feature, which was included in subsequent games of the series.

According to McMullan, the team also collected large numbers of audio recordings from zoos, and created "a massive sound library of [their] own material".

[113] Ensemble Studios worked together with Big Huge Games to develop The Asian Dynasties, Age of Empires III's second expansion.

The reason for them doing so was compatible schedules: Ensemble Studios was busy with other projects—particularly Halo 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 and Sandy Petersen joined in the brainstorming, and had control over the final product.

"[138] and GameSpot wrote that "fundamentals of the Age of Empires II engine are so intact in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds that veterans of that game can jump right in".

He also claimed the unique elements in the games "helped establish the reputation of Ensemble Studios as masters of the real-time strategy genre".

"[142] Gamenikki called Ensemble Studios "the developer that started it all" when they talked about how much Age of Empires III had done to advance the real-time strategy genre.

[143] Shelley has acknowledged the success and innovation of Age of Empires helped to ensure Ensemble survive its early periods since startup.

[146] They also noted that Ensemble was the perfect choice "to realize the original vision of Halo", which started life as an RTS.

[146] In 2024, the Red Bull Wololo: El Reinado Age of Empires II tournament achieved the second-highest viewership in the game's history, with a peak of 85,800 concurrent viewers.

The event, held at the Castle 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 of Age of Empires II in the esports scene.