Best Games Like Age of Empires (Series) for MacTop RTS Games & Historical Games like Age of Empires (Series)

Age of Empires is not available for Mac but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on macOS with similar functionality. The best Mac alternative is 0 A.D., which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Age of Empires and 19 are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Age of Empires are OpenRA, Warzone 2100, Starcraft and MegaGlest.

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Age of Empires alternatives are mainly RTS Games but may also be Historical Games or City Building Games.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Age of Empires.
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Historical, real-time strategy game series where you build a civilization over ages spanning the stone age to the iron age.

More about Age of Empires
Age of Empires alternatives page was last updated Dec 13, 2023
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Alternatives
  1. 0 A.D. icon
     238 likes
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    0 A.D. is a free, open-source, cross-platform real-time strategy (RTS) game of ancient warfare. In short, it is a historically-based war/economy game that allows players to relive or rewrite the history of Western civilizations, focusing on the years between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D.

    43 0 A.D. alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD

    0 A.D. Features

    1.  Single player
    2.  Multiplayer
    3.  Endless gameplay
    4.  Player vs Player

    0 A.D. VS Age of Empires

     
    Comments about 0 A.D. as an Alternative to Age of Empires
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    Feb 27, 2018
    7

    0 A.D. was originally based off of Age of Empires II and is a /great/ alternative to the series. It includes many advanced features and multiplayer support, and is completely open source! How much better can you get? (0 A.D. is currently in alpha development, so there a a couple of bugs and a few features are missing, but it is still very playable and fun.)

    Most Recent Comment
    randomperson
    Positive Nov 27, 2023
    0

    It works on all platforms and it's free and open-source.

    David
    Positive Jan 29, 2020
    1

    0 A.D. is arguably the closest comparable game to Age of Empires 2. The civilizations and more advanced units within them are obviously different but play-wise and strategy-wise, the two are very close. Meanwhile, 0 A.D. has visuals that eclipse the later 3D graphics of AoE 3.

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    3 of 5 comments
    Age of Empires Icon
    0 A.D. icon
    • Almost everyone thinks 0 A.D. is a great Age of Empires alternative.

    • 0 A.D. is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Age of Empires.

    • 0 A.D. is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Age of Empires.

    • 0 A.D. is Free and Open SourceAge of Empires is Paid and Proprietary
  2. OpenRA icon
     48 likes
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    OpenRA is an open-source reimplementation of Westwood’s Command & Conquer Red Alert game engine, updated to use the hardware acceleration of modern video cards using OpenGL.

    27 OpenRA alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • .NET Framework
    • Mono

    OpenRA Features

    1.  Single player
    2.  Multiplayer
    3.  Player vs Player
    4.  Endless gameplay

    OpenRA VS Age of Empires

     
  3. Warzone 2100 icon
     65 likes
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    Join "The Project" to restore humanity's synaptic-link technology after nuclear war has devastated Earth, rendering it a Warzone 2100.

    28 Warzone 2100 alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft

    Warzone 2100 Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Multiplayer
    3.  Single player
    4.  Player vs Player

    Warzone 2100 VS Age of Empires

     
  4. Starcraft icon
     119 likes
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    Command the exiled Terrans, the relentless Zerg, and the abiding Protoss, in the world's most longstanding RTS. (Released in 1997.).

    32 Starcraft alternatives

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Battle.net App

    Starcraft Features

    1.   Game Series
    2.  Multiplayer
    3.  Single player
    4.  Player vs Player
    5.  Free to play
    6.  Sci-fi

    Starcraft VS Age of Empires

     
  5. MegaGlest icon
     24 likes
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    MegaGlest is an open source 3D-real-time strategy game, where you control the armies of one of seven different factions: Tech, Magic, Egyptians, Indians, Norsemen Persian or Romans. The game is setup in one of 14 naturally looking settings, which -like the unit models- are...

    18 MegaGlest alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    MegaGlest Features

    1.  Player vs Player
    2.  Single player
    3.  Multiplayer

    MegaGlest VS Age of Empires

     
    Comments about MegaGlest as an Alternative to Age of Empires
    Guest
    Positive Jan 18, 2017
    -1

    Similar gameplay. Great graphics.

    Age of Empires Icon
    MegaGlest icon
    • MegaGlest is Free and Open SourceAge of Empires is Paid and Proprietary
  6. Widelands icon
     36 likes
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    Widelands is a free, open source real-time strategy game with singleplayer campaigns and a multiplayer mode. The game was inspired by Settlers II™ (© Bluebyte) but has significantly more variety and depth to it. Still, it is easy to get started through playable tutorials.

    27 Widelands alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Widelands Features

    1.  Single player
    2.  Endless gameplay
    3.  Open API

    Widelands VS Age of Empires

     
    Comments about Widelands as an Alternative to Age of Empires
    Guest
    Negative Dec 3, 2022
    0

    different game play and concept

    Age of Empires Icon
    Widelands icon
    • Widelands is Free and Open SourceAge of Empires is Paid and Proprietary
  7. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Settle your people on fertile land, gather resources and construct your village, as the commander of a Bronze Age civilization in the Near East.

    21 The Fertile Crescent alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Discord
    • Indie DB
    • itch.io
    • Steam

    The Fertile Crescent Features

    1.  Multiplayer
    2.  Player vs Player
    3.  Single player

    The Fertile Crescent VS Age of Empires

     
    Comments about The Fertile Crescent as an Alternative to Age of Empires
    randomperson
    Positive Nov 27, 2023
    0

    A great AoE alternative that works on macOS and Linux too!

    Age of Empires Icon
    The Fertile Crescent icon
    • The Fertile Crescent is Paid and ProprietaryAge of Empires is also Paid and Proprietary
  8. CaesarIA icon
     18 likes
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    CaesarIA is an open source remake of Caesar III game released by Impressions Games in 1998, it aims to expand the possibilities of the classical city-building simulators and to add new features showing the city life. Now the game work with Windows, Linux, Mac, Haiku and Android.

    31 CaesarIA alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Wine
    • Steam

    CaesarIA Features

    1.  Multiplayer
    2.  Medieval

    CaesarIA VS Age of Empires

     
    Comments about CaesarIA as an Alternative to Age of Empires
    Guest
    Negative Dec 3, 2022
    0

    different game play and concept

    Guest
    Positive Jun 25, 2021
    0

    I enjoy the city build experience

    Age of Empires Icon
    CaesarIA icon
    • Most users think CaesarIA is a great Age of Empires alternative.

    • CaesarIA is the most popular Android alternative to Age of Empires.

    • CaesarIA is Free and Open SourceAge of Empires is Paid and Proprietary
  9. Dune Legacy icon
     11 likes
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    Dune Legacy is an effort by a handful of developers to revitalize the first-ever real-time strategy game. Based from Dune II

    40 Dune Legacy alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub

    Dune Legacy Features

    1.  Player vs Player
    2.  Single player
    3.  Endless gameplay
    4.  Multiplayer

    Dune Legacy VS Age of Empires

     
  10. Spring 1944 icon
     4 likes
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    Spring:1944 is a WWII themed game based on the open source Spring Engine. Our goal is to create four fully functional sides (US, Germany, USSR, Britain) with period-accurate units and strengths. Realism is a primary design goal, second only to creating a game that is fun and...

    25 Spring 1944 alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Spring 1944 Features

    1.  Multiplayer
    2.  Single player
    3.  Player vs Player

    Spring 1944 VS Age of Empires

     
10 of 19 Age of Empires alternatives