Choose Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Choose Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. 18,417 Steam reviews back the pick.
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition vs Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires: Definitive 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: Definitive Edition (2019) is 1 year older than Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (2020). Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition scores higher on Steam reviews (84.5% positive) than Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (83% positive). 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 Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
Choose Age of Empires: Definitive Edition if it matches what drew you to this matchup. 5,952 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires: Definitive Edition sit in Strategy on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and LAN PvP, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (84.5% vs 83% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition |  Age of Empires: Definitive Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2020 | 2019 |
| Genres | Strategy, Free To Play | Strategy |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | Free to play | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 84.5% positive (18,417 reviews) | 83% positive (5,952 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer |
| Developers | World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires | World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus |
Side by side
- Both are Strategy games on Steam.
- Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (2019) is 1 year older than Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (2020).
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition scores higher on Steam reviews (84.5% positive) than Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (83% positive).
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is free; Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is paid (19.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Playable.
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition vs Age of Empires: Definitive Edition — FAQ
- Which is better, Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition or Age of Empires: Definitive Edition?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition sits at 84.5% positive (18,417 reviews), Age of Empires: Definitive Edition at 83% (5,952). 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 III: Definitive Edition or Age of Empires: Definitive Edition first?
- If you want chronology, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (2019) came out before Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (2020). 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 III: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires: Definitive 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.
- Is Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition free?
- Yes — Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a free-to-play Steam title. Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is paid (19.99 USD).