Age of Empires II
In Age of Empires II you grow a medieval state from a village and a handful of peasants, moving through four Ages from the Dark Age to the Imperial Age. You can win by war, or by holding a Wonder or every relic on the map.
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Definitive Edition came out in November 2019 for the original's 20th anniversary, with 4K graphics, every earlier expansion and a new AI.
This edition has unusual authors. The Forgotten Empires team started out with a fan-made expansion for the original, Microsoft released it officially as The Forgotten in 2013, and the former modders then made Definitive Edition together with World's Edge. Since 2021 more than ten expansions have followed, and in 2025 the game reached PS5, the first entry in the series on PlayStation since 2002.
One reviewer liked the new art and conveniences but criticized unit pathfinding and wanted more balancing. Critics give it 84 on Metacritic, and players leave 94% positive reviews out of 160,298. In our Recommended Score it ranks 190 of 4,736 games.
Enjoyed it? Try Age of Empires IV, where in 2021 the series returned to the Middle Ages under Relic, and Rise of Nations, which spans history from antiquity to the modern age.
Major updates
The Viking Sagas Available Now For Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! · Sep 2026All 5
System requirements
Minimum GT 420 · 4 GB RAM · 15 GBiSteam Deck PlayableMin & recommended
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64bit | Windows 10 64bit |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64x2 5600+ | 2.4 Ghz i5 or greater or AMD equivalent |
| Memory | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 420 or ATI™ Radeon™ HD 6850 or Intel® HD Graphics 4000 or better with 2 GB VRAM | Nvidia® GTX 650 or AMD HD 5850 or better |
| DirectX | 11 | 11 |
| Storage | 15 GB | 15 GB |
From the game’s Steam store page.
