Age of Empires II was released in 1999 by Ensemble Studios as a real time strategy game built around historical civilizations. Each playable civilization received a brief musical theme heard around the start of play, and the Celts cue stood out for its distinctive medieval piping character. The game remained popular through expansions, the HD Edition and the 2019 Definitive Edition, keeping its music familiar to new players. Online, fans isolated these short themes as intros, entrance sounds and nostalgic game references.