Age of Empires III (AOE III) is a real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Microsoft Corporation's Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Released on October 18, 2005 in North America and November 4, 2005 in Europe, it is the third game of the Age of Empires series and the sequel to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The game portrays the European colonization of the Americas, between approximately 1492 and 1850 AD (expanded in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs to 1876). Eight European civilizations are playable.
