A new chill is settling over Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, and it’s not just the snow.
The long-running strategy series has pulled back the curtain on its latest faction, the Schism, a breakaway society of bookish dissenters who thought the best way to survive the Hive was to pack up, trek into the mountains, and start dabbling in forbidden rites. What could go wrong?
The Schism were first teased during Gamescom’s Awesome Indies showcase, and now they’ve been revealed in full: a people who split from Jadame’s dominant power, the Alvar, to pursue their own solution to the growing insectoid menace.
In the process, they’ve built a frosty new homeland among cliffs and ravines, founded on rigid hierarchy, literacy, and a fascination with the arcane traditions of their Vori ancestors. Those traditions involve more than a little ice magic, and yes, a fair number of writhing tentacles.
On the battlefield, the Schism are less about charging headlong and more about shutting everyone else down.
Their leaders can call on eldritch horrors in bulk, but they’re just as dangerous for their knack at denying enemy abilities outright. Combine that with blizzards and frostbitten attrition, and you’ve got a faction designed to grind opponents into submission while their monsters keep piling up.
They slot into a line-up that already includes the insectoid Hive, the familiar Necropolis, the brooding Dungeon, and the forest-bound Sylvan, broadening Olden Era’s already varied faction pool.
All of it is wrapped up in the game’s setting of Jadame, known to long-time Might and Magic players but only now getting a full Heroes outing.
The timing isn’t accidental, either. Ubisoft, Hooded Horse, and Unfrozen are rolling this reveal into the series’ 30th anniversary celebrations.
October 9 will bring a broadcast on Twitch and YouTube, with interviews, retrospectives, and a special look at where Olden Era is headed next. The game itself is still on course for an Early Access release on PC via Steam later this year.
