Due to its commercial success, an expansion pack was released; Age of Empires II: The Conquerors, followed by a Gold Edition, which bundled together the two games along with a bonus map and game matches recorded by Microsoft strategy experts.
In 2013, Age of Empires II HD was announced and given a release date of April 9, 2013 on the Steam digital distribution platform for Windows only.
The HD Edition includes both the original game and the expansion The Conquerors, as well as updated graphics for high-resolution displays. It also supports user-generated content through the Steam Workshop and multiplayer games provided through the Steam servers.
After more than a decade, another expansion pack, Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, was released. It had more bug fixes, advanced AIs and balancing. It required the HD version to be installed first.
Later, in 2015, the new expansion Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms was released, bringing the total number of civilizations to 27.
The following year in 2016, Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas was released on the 19th of December, bringing the total number of civilizations to 31.