Microsoft today announced the official settings for the Age of Empires II: The Conquerors International Tournament Finals. Sixteen finalists from around the world will meet face-to-face in Redmond, Washington on Wednesday, November 7, to compete for a total prize pool of almost $100,000. One conqueror will emerge victorious and walk away with the grand prize of $50,000. Live play-by-play coverage of the world finals will be hosted by several members of the Ensemble Studios development team, creators of the Age of Empires series. To participate, visit the Zone Theater Chat room (http://zone.msn.com/zzzz/auditorium.asp) on November 7 from 12pm to 3pm PST.

The tournament will consist of a single elimination bracket in which opponents will be determined by a random drawing. Each match will be played using Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion and the following settings:

Map Style:              Standard
Location:                Archipelago (first round)
                             Arabia (quarterfinals)
                             Mediterranean (semi-finals)
                             Highland (finals)
Resources:              Low
Difficulty:                Standard
Population Limit:       200
Starting Age:           Dark Age
Victory Condition:     Standard
Map Size:                Tiny
Reveal Map:             Normal
Game Speed:            Normal
Lock Teams:             Enable
Cheats:                   Disable
All Tech:                  Disable
Record Game:           Enable

Age of Empires is one of the most successful strategy game franchises in history, having sold over eight and a half million units worldwide. The series, developed by Ensemble Studios, has received numerous awards including AIAS Strategy Game of the Year awards for Age of Empires, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, and The Conquerors Expansion; as well as the prestigious AIAS PC Game of the Year for Age of Empires II: Age of Kings. Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion challenges gamers to wage war on an epic scale with all-new civilizations, unique units and technologies, and campaigns based on infamous conquerors such as Attila the Hun, El Cid and Montezuma.

More information about the Conquerors Expansion is available on the game's official site at http://www.microsoft.com/games/conquerors/, or on the Ensemble Studios site at http://www.ensemblestudios.com/.