Age of Wonders II: The Wizard’s Throne

2002 Triumph Studios RPG, Strategy

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxGold

Steam DeckUnsupported

Gamicality score

Metacritic 864

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 761

How it’s combined

Playability today

3.5

Runs today3/5

Design today3.5/5

Steam user reviews

Very Positive

82%

363 reviews1

Get it on Steam Watch the trailer

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does Age of Wonders II: The Wizard’s Throne run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxGold

Through Proton. ProtonDB: Gold, runs perfectly after tweaks.3

Steam DeckUnsupported

Unsupported, as rated by Valve.1

Played Age of Wonders II: The Wizard’s Throne lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get Age of Wonders II: The Wizard’s Throne running today

Set aow2.exe, aow2compat.exe and aow2setup.exe to Windows XP (SP3) compatibility mode, disable fullscreen optimizations and run as administrator, as described in this Steam Community guide.
Run aow2setup.exe after that change to unlock modern resolutions such as 1920×1080, and leave the in-game Resolution Switches option off (Steam Community).
Avoid Alt+Tab in fullscreen, since it can leave a black screen that forces a hard exit (PCGamingWiki).

Synopsis

Age of Wonders II is a turn-based fantasy strategy game in which players lead a wizard who builds an empire of cities, researches spells and sends armies of heroes and creatures across a hex map. Battles can be fought out on a separate tactical screen. A story campaign links a series of scenarios, and stand-alone scenarios support hot seat, LAN and play by email.

Developer: Triumph Studios
Released: 2002
Genre: RPG, Strategy
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

Critics at release praised its depth, spell system, races and strong pull of one more turn, though some found the AI weak in sieges and city building and the interface short on key unit information. The early campaign was also called punishing, with a tutorial that covers only the basics. Players today still rate it highly as a classic and often prefer it to later entries. The common complaints now are that it can feel awkward and hard to understand, and that it takes setup to run well on modern Windows.

Trailer from Steam

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

3/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
Some content no longer works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
Online matchmaking ran through GameSpy Arcade, which is gone; LAN, direct IP, hot seat and play by email still work (PCGamingWiki).
Supports modern resolutions and widescreen
Widescreen resolutions work in Direct3D mode, but the HUD stretches from 4:3 (PCGamingWiki).
No full controller support and no remappable controls
There is no controller support and no key remapping (PCGamingWiki).
Not Steam Deck Verified or Playable
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
No known game-breaking bugs in the current version
Display problems on Windows 10 and 11 have known workarounds, and players report full playthroughs without issues (Steam Community).

Design today

3.5/5

Controls feel natural on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
The game is played entirely with the mouse on a turn-based map, with hotkeys for common commands such as saving, loading and the hex grid. Source: cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com, gamevortex.com.
Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
In widescreen the 4:3 interface is stretched, and reviewers found it short on information, such as no attack preview for ranged units and no list of armies. Source: pcgamingwiki.com, honestgamers.com.
Saving is fair: free saves or frequent checkpoints, little lost progress
The game can be saved at any time with a dedicated hotkey, and saves double as the files sent in play by email games. Source: cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com.
Hard to make progress without a guide
The campaign opens with a tutorial scenario, but it covers only the basics, and starting skills, stat caps and summoned units go unexplained, leaving a steep learning curve. Source: cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com, gamevortex.com, honestgamers.com.
Pacing holds up: little grind, filler or forced backtracking
Campaign scenarios keep a strong one more turn pull, and simultaneous turns are available to cut waiting in multiplayer. Source: honestgamers.com, gamevortex.com.
Camera and movement never fight the player
The world map and battles use a fixed isometric view on a hex grid, which keeps armies and terrain easy to read. Source: gamevortex.com.