Rise of Nations received positive reception upon release, with praise directed to its novel features in the genre and broader scope of gameplay.

Big Huge Games was acquired by 38 Studios in 2009, who sold the rights to Rise of Nations to Microsoft following their closure in 2012.

A nation's borders can be expanded by the creation and expansion of cities and forts, a technology tree, and obtaining access to certain rare resources.

Other technologies and resources cause enemy units within a nation's borders to suffer attrition over time, which can eventually destroy an unsupplied invasion force.

In a manner similar to chess, slight strategic mistakes early in the game can turn into major tactical problems later on.

It is comparable to the board game Risk, except that attacks are resolved with a real-time battle, which can last as long as 90 minutes depending upon the scenario.

Exceptions to this rule are: Scout and Special Forces units, armed civilians, flamethrowers, and machine gunners.

Designer Doug Kaufman stated that the decision of Reynolds to lead an independent project was the belief that turn-based strategy games were "on the decline" and the resistance from Firaxis Games to support a proposal to explore real-time gameplay elements in the Civilization series.

[6] In August 2000, Big Huge Games secured a publishing deal with Microsoft to develop multiple titles.

[13] The development process for Rise of Nations involved considerable use of "prototyping and iteration" to introduce novel features to the real-time strategy format.

Reynolds stated that the inclusion of attrition, national borders, and city capture were features adopted from the turn-based strategy game genre.

One idea abandoned in early development, the inclusion of different models of government, later became a core component of the Thrones and Patriots expansion.

[14] Rise of Nations was developed with the core design objective of ensuring that rounds of the game could be played within a short timeframe.

"[14] Reynolds stated that some of the key challenges of implementing this pacing were "developing enough different types of artwork" between eras, and creating balanced gameplay across the large amount of unit types in the game, acknowledging "we erred in making aircraft and the offensive units in general too powerful".

[15] The 'Conquer the World' campaign of Rise of Nations formed a major undertaking in the development process, taking over six months to integrate in the game.

Designer and scenario editor Ike Ellis stated that the developers abandoned an original plan to involve a chain of linear single player scenarios, stating the idea was "too boring" and that the game lacked "graphic scale small enough to make it work around individual characters".

[16] Producer Tim Train stated that combat in Rise of Nations was developed with an "epic" and "more strategic" scope, and determined the preference in gameplay design towards "directing armies and troops" and away from "a smaller focus with only a few units on the screen" and the inclusion of special units and abilities.

[6] The soundtrack of Rise of Nations was composed by Duane Decker, who had previously worked on sound for the MechWarrior series of games.

"[17] Decker's composition process involved considerable research of "unfamiliar" world music styles, stating "I listened to everything from Irish whistle, to Russian balalaika, to Tuvan throat singers",[18] and was composed as a combination of sampled and live instruments.

[19] A DVD of the soundtrack, containing a Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 surround sound stereo mix of the game opening cinematics, and production interviews, was released on June 24, 2003.

Writing for GameSpy, William Abner stated that the mode was "an absolute blast...it's a great minigame that an infinite amount of replay value for the solo gamer.

Whilst IGN praised the "extremely good interface", "commonsense approach to grouping units" and "automation applied to non-military units", IGN noted that "things can become pretty unwieldy in massive battles", describing multiplayer battles as a "nearly mindless clickfest.

"[32] Di Luo of Computer Gaming World observed combat to feature too many "overwhelming" mechanics, stating "throw in attrition, supply, spies and commandos into the mix, and you'll probably need four hands and eight eyes to manage everything properly at normal speed settings.

"[24] Rob Fahey of Eurogamer noted the game's speed "makes it a little too tricky to pull off tactical moves, with frantic mouse clicking required in combat to get your units to perform flanking manoeuvres and the like.

"[27] Similarly IGN stated "yes, there are many races available, but none of them have a personality as such...(they) look the same, since they only employ three different graphic sets...so the racial distinctions feel abstract, rather than part of an immersive experience.

"[32] However, John Dewhurst for PC PowerPlay noted that "harsh critics could label its diversity too light to be truly immersive and they may have a point.

The publication's William Harms called it "a blueprint for the genre's future" and "how RTS games should be made from here on out".

Reynolds stated that the failure to identify a "clear idea of the kind of game we were making" in the first year of development, and difficulty with the design of linear scenarios leading to the decision to design the Conquer The World mode, were major lessons learned in the development period for the game.

[46] On April 28, 2004, Big Huge Games released the expansion pack Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots.

Tactics was a completed but unreleased title, discovered following the examination of 38 Studios servers by liquidators prior to auction of the company's assets.