Age of Empires
user avatarAdded by @Uereg

Age of Empires (1997)

by Ensemble Studios, MacSoft Games, Microsoft
Platforms:
Mac, PC (Microsoft Windows)
Genres:Strategy
Themes:Historical, Warfare
Game modes:Single player, Multiplayer
Story:
Age of Empires (AoE) is a history-based real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. The game uses the Genie, a 2D sprite-based game engine. The game allows the user to act as the leader of an ancient civilization by advancing it through four ages (the Stone, Tool, Bronze, and Iron Ages), gaining access to new and improved units with each advance.
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.Love this game?
Vote to support it.
52 786
35
One of my first RTS games as a kid, along with StarCraft and Warcraft 3. I personally like WC3 and SC1 better, but AoE 1 is still a classic worth playing by RTS fans. I used to have a physical copy of AoE 1 in a disc wallet, but that's lost and probably has turned to dust by now (the wallet has also turned to dust and leather confetti). I have a newer physical copy that has AoE 1 and 2 (Ubisoft eXclusive version), but AoE 1 has this NASTY bug that causes savegames to corrupt quite frequently. It would be real swell to have patched up versions of AoE 1, 2, and their expansions on here.seanwood7777
Similar games on GOG
Similar games on GOG
Total Annihilation: Commander Pack
$0.99$4.99
-80%
Earth 2140 Trilogy
$2.79$6.99
-60%
Atre: Dominance Wars
$23.99
Tzar: The Burden of the Crown
$4.99
Clash
$5.99
Click to explore games available on GOG
Stories about this game (35)
What’s your memory of Age of Empires?Share your favorite moments and see what others remember about this game.
user avatar@placeholder

Make sure to follow our Guidelines when adding new Stories.

If not sure what to write:
  • What made this game unforgettable?
  • Who did you play this game with?
  • What made it fun or challenging?
  • Why do you want this game on GOG?
One of my first RTS games as a kid, along with StarCraft and Warcraft 3. I personally like WC3 and SC1 better, but AoE 1 is still a classic worth playing by RTS fans. I used to have a physical copy of AoE 1 in a disc wallet, but that's lost and probably has turned to dust by now (the wallet has also turned to dust and leather confetti). I have a newer physical copy that has AoE 1 and 2 (Ubisoft eXclusive version), but AoE 1 has this NASTY bug that causes savegames to corrupt quite frequently. It would be real swell to have patched up versions of AoE 1, 2, and their expansions on here.
user avatar@abramixuser avatar@abramix
February 01, 2026
This is my favorite video game, because I've been playing it since I was little, I would like to see it on this page so that it can be preserved for many years.
user avatar@Samurai119user avatar@Samurai119
February 10, 2026
This game started it all for me. I still have the disk version of this one. It is so great to go back and play it again and again. After playing newer games, the older ones like this can be a little difficult because I have forgotten all of the strategies I used to use.
This game was absolute perfection; the controls, the looks, the sounds?! Nothing says "man, the good old days" as this game. Until this day we joke with friends about the legendary sounds of the priest and the workers in the game. Many battles have been fought, online and on lanparty's; nothing got as many people together to play on a lanparty as this game. This one needs to be preserved!
user avatar@Dreagoonuser avatar@Dreagoon
October 26, 2026
I spent hours and hours on this game designing maps and then playing them love the isometric veiw it has compared to the other RTS games of the era. 100% would play again and again.
Those games also need your vote!
Black & White
Black & WhitePlay the role of a deity in a land where the surroundings are yours to shape and its people are yours to lord over. Be an evil, malevolent god and the natives will worship you with fear in their eyes. Play as a kind, benevolent god and they will worship you with love in their hearts. Your actions decide whether you create a heaven or hell for your worshipers. Then select a creature from the land to act as your representative in the world. Raise it to gigantic proportions and teach it to do your bidding--whether the animal grows into an evil colossus of mass destruction or a kind and gentle giant is up to you. Progress through the game's rich storyline performing powerful miracles to battle other deities and become the world's supreme god.
Top
Open world
Sandbox
Top
Open world
Sandbox
138 497
773
Black & White 2
Black & White 2In the game, the player takes the role of a god called from the void (nothingness) to help those who invoked them. However, the player is not an omnipotent style god, but rather a god who rises and falls with his believers and the player must help develop their nature according to their good or evil desires. The player also has a creature, their physical representation in the world, which takes the form of an anthropomorphic ape, lion, wolf, turtle, cow, or tiger. Its physical manifestation can grow to an immense size, and adopt a good or evil persona separate of the player's. They develop their character as the player rewards or punishes their actions. In addition to the god simulation and city-building elements introduced in the original Black & White, Black & White 2 also features elements of real-time strategy gameplay, with the addition of controllable warfare and fighting units.
Top
Action
Fantasy
Comedy
Sandbox
Top
Action
Fantasy
Comedy
Sandbox
116 185
250
Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection
Command & Conquer: The Ultimate CollectionAre you ready for the ultimate real-time strategy experience? Gather resources, build your base, and create the most powerful armies in the world before engaging the enemy in all-out war. Fight as the Global Defense Initiative or the Brotherhood of Nod as they clash over the rare mineral Tiberium in the classic original series. Challenge the red menace in an alternate universe in Red Alert, then step into the near future with Generals as China and the United States battle the Global Liberation Army, a terrorist organization hell-bent on bringing the world to its knees. However you play, you’ll enjoy limitless hours of RTS Command & Conquer gaming with 10 base games and 7 in-depth expansion packs. Note: GameSpy ended all hosted game services in 2014, which affects the online multiplayer aspect of one or more games in the collection. Learn more about this in our FAQ. Game Features: Engage in intense, strategic battles. Make the most of every move as you order soldiers, vehicles, and aircraft across large maps filled with enemies, traps, and mission-critical resources. Move single troops, select small groups, or issue a unified attack order to all allies as you work to defeat the opponent. Collect, create, conquer. Success in battle requires more than just a keen battle strategy. Fight for control as you struggle to collect the resources necessary to build new bases, troops, and weaponry, all while keeping the enemy at bay. Command and Conquer everything. Explore the wide range of Command & Conquer games and fight every war from both sides! Rediscover the epic conflicts across two decades of gameplay. Take a first-person view of the C&C universe through Command & Conquer: Renegade – the series’ one and only first-person shooter – or start playing from the very beginning and enjoy the frenetic style of combat, immersive strategy and campy banter that launched a generation of strategy warfare games.
Top
Action
Warfare
Science fiction
Sandbox
Top
Action
Warfare
Science fiction
Sandbox
95 130
283
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earthThe players control the heroes or villians from the famous Lord of The Rings movies. With a hero characters similar to the Warcraft series you control both the armies and all the unique heroes. The game follows the movies very closely and even got scenes from the films appear in game. Not only does the game contain a giant campaign where you play through the journey of the ring as the good side, the game also features an evil campaign where as the players play as the evil forces of Middle Earth. With multiple diffrent races from all over Middle Earth, a giant spell tree to customize your game and a unique basebuilding layout the game was great for its time.
Top
Fantasy
Warfare
Top
Fantasy
Warfare
90 535
470
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Warcraft III: Reign of ChaosWarcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a real-time strategy game set in the high fantasy world of Azeroth. Players control one of four factions, the Human Alliance, Orcish Horde, Night Elves, or Undead Scourge, each with unique units, structures, and hero characters that gain experience and abilities through combat. The single-player campaign follows a sequential narrative across four faction-specific chapters. Multiplayer is supported through Battle.net with ranked matchmaking. The game includes a World Editor that allows players to create custom maps and scenarios, which gave rise to influential community creations including the mod Defense of the Ancients.
Fantasy
Warfare
Fantasy
Warfare
61 877
116
StarCraft
StarCraftStarCraft is a real-time strategy game set in a distant sector of the Milky Way galaxy in the 26th century. Players command one of three species across separate campaigns: the Terrans, resourceful human colonists cut off from Earth; the Zerg, an insectoid swarm that assimilates other species; and the Protoss, a technologically advanced race with powerful psionic abilities. Each species features distinct units, structures, and strategic options. The game includes a story-driven single-player campaign for each faction and competitive multiplayer via Battle.net.
Warfare
Science fiction
Warfare
Science fiction
61 021
97
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth IIWage war in the North and assume command of the most storied civilizations in all of Middle-earth history - the Elven and Dwarven armies - or fight on the side of Evil with heroes and creatures that have never been seen in The Lord of the Rings films. Defend or overtake never before seen lands such as Dol Guldur, The Misty Mountains, and Mirkwood as you unleash powerful new weapons and abilities, such as summoning dragons.
Fantasy
Warfare
Fantasy
Warfare
60 902
259
Fable III
Fable IIISet 50 years after the events of Fable II, the continent of Albion (where the Fable series is set) is under the control of Logan, a tyrant king and the Hero's older brother[1]. The player's character, the "Hero", is forced into a quest to become a revolutionary leader to defeat Logan after he reveals his true personality to the Hero. Over the course of the first half of the game, the Hero will overthrow Logan and become ruler of Albion themselves. During the second half of the game, a strange force from Aurora, called The Darkness will threaten Albion and the player has to decide how to react to it.
Open world
Action
Fantasy
Comedy
Sandbox
Open world
Action
Fantasy
Comedy
Sandbox
53 501
129
Dune
DuneDune is a 1992 video game, based upon Frank Herbert's science fiction novel of the same name. Developed by Cryo Interactive, is the first of the Dune computer games. Dune blended adventure with economic and military strategy, and is considered by many the most immersive Dune computer game. Loosely following the story of the novel, the game casts the player as Paul Atreides, with the ultimate goal of driving the Harkonnen from Planet Dune, while managing spice extraction, military, and later, ecology through the native Fremen tribes. As the player progresses, his troops are equipped with weapons from "crysknives" to atomics, tap into Paul's latent psychic powers, and get acquainted with such characters from the book as Chani and Liet-Kynes.
Science fiction
Science fiction
50 662
80
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft II: Tides of DarknessWarcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a Strategy video game published by Blizzard Entertainment released on 1995 for MS-DOS. Warcraft 2 is a successor of the popular Warcraft real-time strategy game. The game contains many improvements over the previous version in graphics, sounds and playability. The Multiplayer was also greatly improved allowing up to 8 players in the marvelous multiplayer skirmish.
Fantasy
Fantasy
49 713
32