Age of Empires III is a
real-time strategyReal-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
(RTS) game developed by Microsoft Corporation's
Ensemble StudiosEnsemble Studios was a video game developer initially established in 1995 as an independent company, but was owned by Microsoft from 2001 to 2009, when it was officially disbanded. Ensemble developed many real-time strategy games, including the Age of Empires game series, Age of Mythology, and Halo...
and published by
Microsoft Game StudiosMicrosoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
. The Mac version was ported over and developed by
DestineerDestineer is a computer game developer and publisher based in Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 2000 by former Bungie Studios vice-president, Peter Tamte...
's
MacSoft GamesMacSoft Games is a Plymouth, Minnesota, United States-based computer game publisher and porter specializing in porting Microsoft Windows computer games to the Macintosh...
and published by
DestineerDestineer is a computer game developer and publisher based in Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 2000 by former Bungie Studios vice-president, Peter Tamte...
and
MacSoft GamesMacSoft Games is a Plymouth, Minnesota, United States-based computer game publisher and porter specializing in porting Microsoft Windows computer games to the Macintosh...
. The PC Version was released on October 18, 2005 in
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and November 4, 2005 in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, while the Mac version was released on November 21, 2006 in
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and September 29, 2006 in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It is the third game of the
Age of Empires series and the sequel to
Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsAge 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 the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems, it was the second game in the Age of Empires series...
.
