Empire Earth, also known as EE, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and released on November 23, 2001. It is the first game in the Empire Earth series. It has been described as very similar to the Age of Empires series, and received positive reviews. The game requires players to use citizens to collect resources and construct buildings and produce military units to conquer opposing civilizations. Empire Earth spans 500,000 years of world history, which is divided into 14 epochs, beginning with the prehistoric age, and ending with the nano age.