Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh in 2001, it is the second game in the Age of Empires series. The Age of Kings is set in the Middle Ages and contains 13 playable civilizations. Players aim to gather resources, which they use to build towns, create armies, and defeat their enemies. There are 5 historically based campaigns, which conscript the player to specialized and story-backed conditions, and 3 additional single-player game modes; multiplayer is also supported.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1999
- Developer
- Hidden Path Entertainment
- Platforms
- 2 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 27 September 1999 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Hidden Path Entertainment |
| Publisher | Microsoft, Konami |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation 2 |
| Genres | Strategy |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q34852, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings? How long to beat it
Total play time for Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is about 73.1 hours to do everything, and around 40.6 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 40.6h | 52 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 58.4h | 28 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 73.1h | 19 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 58ahead of 12% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 76ahead of 99% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Part of the Age of Empires series
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is one of 7 Age of Empires games we track. See the whole series ranked by the GamingPickz Score, plotted on the grid, and listed in release order:
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings head to head
See Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings compared side by side, on score, price, specs and more:
Common questions about Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
What platforms is Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings on?
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is available on PC, PlayStation 2. It first released in 1999.
Who made Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings?
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings was developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and published by Microsoft, Konami.
How long does it take to beat Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings?
about 40.6 hours for the main story, 58.4 hours with the main extras, 73.1 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.