Choose Age of Empires II (Retired)
Choose Age of Empires II (Retired) if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 36,634 Steam reviews back the pick.
Age of Empires II (Retired) vs Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
Age of Empires II (Retired) and Rise of Nations: Extended Edition both land in Strategy on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Strategy games on Steam. Age of Empires II (Retired) (2013) is 1 year older than Rise of Nations: Extended Edition (2014). Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (Age of Empires II (Retired): 36,634 reviews, Rise of Nations: Extended Edition: 7,793). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
Choose Rise of Nations: Extended Edition if you want a Simulation game with Co-op. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. 7,793 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Age of Empires II (Retired) and Rise of Nations: Extended Edition sit in Strategy on Steam and both list Multi-player and Steam Leaderboards, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.2% vs 94.8% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Age of Empires II (Retired) |  Rise of Nations: Extended Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2013 | 2014 |
| Genres | Strategy | Strategy, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.2% positive (36,634 reviews) | 94.8% positive (7,793 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player, Co-op |
| Developers | Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment, Ensemble Studios, Forgotten Empires | SkyBox Labs, Big Huge Games |
Side by side
- Both are Strategy games on Steam.
- Age of Empires II (Retired) (2013) is 1 year older than Rise of Nations: Extended Edition (2014).
- Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (Age of Empires II (Retired): 36,634 reviews, Rise of Nations: Extended Edition: 7,793).
- Rise of Nations: Extended Edition is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Age of Empires II (Retired) (19.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Rise of Nations: Extended Edition has co-op; Age of Empires II (Retired) does not.
- Steam Deck: Age of Empires II (Retired) is Deck Verified, Rise of Nations: Extended Edition is Deck Unsupported.
Age of Empires II (Retired) vs Rise of Nations: Extended Edition — FAQ
- Which is better, Age of Empires II (Retired) or Rise of Nations: Extended Edition?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Age of Empires II (Retired) sits at 95.2% positive (36,634 reviews), Rise of Nations: Extended Edition at 94.8% (7,793). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Age of Empires II (Retired) or Rise of Nations: Extended Edition first?
- If you want chronology, Age of Empires II (Retired) (2013) came out before Rise of Nations: Extended Edition (2014). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Age of Empires II (Retired) and Rise of Nations: Extended Edition similar?
- They overlap on Strategy on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.