Microsoft Bringing Age of Empires To iPad And Android

Microsoft will soon bring more of its Xbox and PC games to iOS and Android devices starting with the popular strategy title Age of Empires.

According to Reuters Microsoft signed a deal with Japanese company Klab Inc. to bring some of its games to other platforms. The first game to come to iOS and Android as part of the deal is Age of Empires, which will come out as a free to play game before the end of fiscal 2013.

Age of Empires is a classic real-time strategy franchise for the PC which lets players take on the role of a historical civilization as they try to take over rival civilizations. Microsoft recently released an HD remake of Age of Empires II for the PC. It’s not clear if the mobile version of the franchise is a modified port of one of the PC games, or an entirely new game with the same name.

Assuming the game keeps the same gameplay as the PC originals, Age of Empires will likely work well on touchscreen devices. Devices like the iPad seem custom-made for RTS games, though there are relatively few games in the genre available on the platform.

Microsoft’s deal with Klab will also bring other titles to more platforms, but there’s no word on what other games are a part of the deal. Presumably those games will come out sometime after the free to play Age of Empires game.

Microsoft is no stranger to bringing its games to other platforms. Earlier this year the company released platformer Ms. Splosion Man and puzzle game Wordament on iPhone and iPad. The company has a number of other apps available in the iOS App Store as well.

While Microsoft would like it if users bought Windows Phones, it seems the company has no problem bringing some of its games and apps to platforms that have larger market shares.