Microsoft Game Studios, together with Ensemble Studios, has officially announced that their latest award winning Age of Empires title will be getting the "Asian touch" with a second expansion pack, loaded with content of the East. Entitled Age of Empires III: Asian Dynasties, the expansion pack will arrive on Windows XP and Vista by Fall of 2007 as stated by the press release.

Developed by Big Huge Games, makers of Rise of Nations and who are also teamed up with THQ for an as of yet unannounced RPG title, Asian Dynasties will be delivering authentic Asian civilizations present in other genre mimics, such as Sierra's Empire Earth series, while delivering new ways of gameplay plus additional content to Age of Empires III.

For Vista users, the game will be shipping as a Games for Windows title, so expect this content pack to reflect on your Games Explorer, with all the ease of installation and operating system compatibility. Brian Reynolds, CEO and creative director of Big Huge Games commented:

We're honored to have the opportunity to develop Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties with Ensemble Studios and confident that the innovation of both teams will deliver an exciting experience for fans of this franchise. We feel that the in-depth experience of Big Huge Games in the real-time strategy genre, combined with the solid reputation of the Age of Empires franchise, will result in something fresh and unique for gamers.