Age of Empires III (also called AoE III) is a real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. 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 Conquerors. The game portrays the European colonization of the Americas between approximately AD 1500 and 1850. Eight European civilizations are playable.