Empire Earth

Lore & Background

The Empire Earth series began with the 2001 release of Empire Earth, developed by Stainless Steel Studios and published by Sierra Entertainment. The game featured 14 epochs covering 500,000 years, 12 playable civilizations, and four campaign missions based on Ancient Greece, England's wars with France, Germany in World Wars I and II, and a fantasy future scenario involving Russia. It sold 2 million units, leading to an expansion pack and sequels.

Reader's Guide

Empire Earth is significant as a historical real-time strategy series that expanded on the formula of Age of Empires, with Rick Goodman's involvement linking the two franchises. The original game received positive critical acclaim (82% average) and strong sales, establishing a fan base. Subsequent titles varied in reception: Empire Earth II scored 79%, while Empire Earth III was poorly received at 50%. The expansion packs—The Art of Conquest (66%) and The Art of Supremacy (61%)—were considered mediocre. Empires: Dawn of the Modern World, a spiritual sequel, scored 81%. The series' use of the Titan engine and its eventual sale after Stainless Steel Studios closed marked a technical legacy, though later entries struggled with innovation and quality.

Did You Know?

• Empire Earth included 14 epochs spanning 500,000 years.
• The game featured 12 playable civilizations from every age and location.
• The Titan engine was sold after Stainless Steel Studios closed.

Origins & Design Lineage

Empire Earth emerged from a lineage deeply rooted in the real-time strategy genre. The series was developed by Stainless Steel Studios and Mad Doc Software, with Sierra Entertainment handling publication. At its creative core stood Rick Goodman, a designer whose fingerprints were already visible on the genre's most iconic title—he had served as one of the lead designers on Age of Empires before going on to design both Empire Earth and its spiritual follow-up, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World. This direct creative thread meant the series carried the DNA of one of RTS gaming's defining franchises. Technically, the games ran on the Titan engine and its successor, Titan 2.0. After Stainless Steel Studios eventually closed its doors, the engine was sold off, marking the end of an era for the technology that powered the series. The games positioned themselves as historical real-time strategy experiences, deliberately drawing comparisons to Age of Empires while carving out their own identity through broader historical scope.

The Original Game & Its Scope

The 2001 debut of Empire Earth set an ambitious standard for the series. The game spanned fourteen distinct epochs covering a staggering 500,000 years of human history, and featured twenty-one nations drawn from every era and geographic region. Its campaign mode presented four major storylines rooted in real historical moments: the rise of Ancient Greece, England's prolonged conflicts with France including the Norman Conquest, Germany's involvement in both World War I and World War II, and a speculative fantasy scenario in which Russia attempted to conquer the world. Critics praised the game's in-depth gameplay, and it earned solid positive reviews. Commercially, the title moved two million units—a figure robust enough to justify an expansion pack and multiple sequels. That initial success established Empire Earth as a serious contender in the historical RTS space and gave Sierra Entertainment the confidence to build an entire franchise around it.

The Sequel Era & Expansion Packs

Following the original's success, the series expanded across multiple titles and platforms. The Art of Conquest arrived in 2002, adding new campaigns and features, but its reception was dented by numerous small bugs that Mad Doc Software never patched. In 2003, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World launched as a spiritual sequel rather than a direct follow-up, designed by Rick Goodman and the SSSI team. It condensed the scope to just 1,000 years and nine civilizations while retaining throwbacks to the first game. Empire Earth II, released in 2005 by Mad Doc Software after Stainless Steel Studios departed to work on Dawn of the Modern World, brought revamped graphics and weather effects while preserving the original gameplay feel. Its 2006 expansion, The Art of Supremacy, added new campaigns, civilizations, and units but was criticized for a lack of innovation. A mobile turn-based version followed in October 2005, developed by Vivendi and published by Wonderphone, featuring just four epochs. Empire Earth III closed the trilogy in November 2007.

Reception Arc & Legacy

The critical trajectory of the Empire Earth series tells a story of gradual decline. The original title averaged 82 percent across reviews, establishing a strong benchmark. Empires: Dawn of the Modern World held close at 81 percent, while Empire Earth II followed at 79 percent. The mobile adaptation managed a respectable 77 percent. The expansion packs, however, struggled: The Art of Conquest settled at 66 percent, and The Art of Supremacy dropped to 61 percent. Empire Earth III represented the series' lowest point, averaging just 50 percent and drawing poor reception in stark contrast to its predecessors. Beyond the games themselves, the series' infrastructure also met an end—after Stainless Steel Studios closed, the Titan and Titan 2.0 engines were sold off, severing the technical foundation that had powered the franchise. Despite the waning critical fortunes of later entries, the original Empire Earth's two million unit sales and its ambitious 500,000-year scope left a lasting mark on the historical RTS genre.