Together with developer Skybox Labs, the game received graphics improvements, bug fixes, updates necessary to play on modern systems, Steam-based multiplayer (ranked and unranked), Twitch integration, Steamworks integration, as well as Steam Trading Cards. Microsoft acquired the intellectual property for the Rise of Nations franchise in 2013. Later that year, a Gold edition of Rise of Nations was released, which included both the original and the expansion. On April 28, 2004, Big Huge Games released Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots, an expansion pack. Rise of Nations features 18 civilizations, playable through 8 ages of world history. Concepts taken from turn-based strategy games have been added into the game-including territories and attrition warfare. The development of the game was led by veteran Brian Reynolds, of Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Rise of Nations is a real-time strategy computer game, developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft on May 20, 2003.
