Age of Empires III (also called AOE III) is a real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Released on October 18, 2005 in North America, and on November 4 of the same year in Europe, it is the third title 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 AD 1500 and 1850. Eight European civilizations are playable. [source:wikipedia]