Last week, along with Microsoft Game Studios, we helped build and launch the Age of Empires Online website!

The Age of Empires game series has already sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. The online version plays just like the original Age of Empires, but adds some social aspects, like persistent gameplay, new multiplayer features, levelling up and quests that can be done with a group of online friends. According to Microsoft Games’ press release, “Age of Empires Online will feature a persistent online capital city that lives and grows even when you’re offline, and Cooperative multiplayer quests, trading and a level-based system that lets you progress at your own pace.”

A screenshot of the Age of Empires Online landing page 13 hours after launch.

We were excited to be a part of this new endeavor for Microsoft Games. The whole project had to be kept under wraps and super-secret, which meant all of the promotions, testing and design had to be done quietly and efficiently, and our timing for getting everything up and running had to be perfect. We stayed up until the wee hours of the night making sure the site was ready to roll.

We’re thrilled we finally get to spill the beans, although it didn’t take long for the word to get out thanks to tons of existing fans and the big announcement at GameCom. Within 13 hours of launch, Age of Empires Online site had already received over 2300 Likes on Facebook.

“We launched at 9 o’clock that night, and by 11pm it was already getting a huge buzz,” says project manager Jake Kinsley.

The new game even has its own Twitter account. People are really excited and cueing up to be game beta testers.

Check out the game online for yourself!