I had no idea about a prequel dedicated to Heroes of Might and Magic. Still, just a few hours ago, Ubisoft and the developer Unfrozen announced none other than Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era. This new installment explores the events before the first game in the series, taking us back to Enroth and the uncharted continent of Jadame.
What better way to celebrate the series’ 30th anniversary than with a new chapter that introduces new factions, creatures, and features that bring fresh ideas to this genre of games?
Ubisoft has stated that with this title, they aimed to stay as faithful as possible to the settings, dynamics, and overall feel of the HOMM series, particularly that of the third installment.
So, we can look forward to returning to exploration, city management, resource production, hexagonal grid-based combat, and, most importantly, deep character progression dynamics. Each faction will have unique abilities, and one of my favorite features in video games, equipment sets, will appear in this installment, offering bonuses and skills when multiple items from the same set are equipped.
The game will feature various single-player and competitive multiplayer modes. An exciting aspect to note is the single-player campaign, which promises to be much more dynamic and varied. The choices players make, and the side quests they undertake or choose not to will influence the game world, adding a fresh twist to the traditional HOMM-like mechanics.
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era marks a highly anticipated return to a series that has inspired countless other games and continues to do so. The game will be released in mid-2025, with an initial phase of Early Access on PC. Below, you’ll find an overview via Steam, along with screenshots and a trailer.
Heroes of Might & Magic Olden Era is a new installment of the renowed series of turn-based strategy games, where action takes place in Enroth, on the continent of Jadame, mentioned but never explored in a Heroes of Might & Magic game before. Traverse a vibrant and living fantasy world full of wonders and dangers, build magnificent capital cities, raise massive armies and clash in epic, highly tactical battles of heroes and mythical creatures.
Play solo with a new campaign, multiple single maps and limitless randomly generated scenarios, or engage in battle of wits and magic with other players — rivals or allies — in multiplayer mode. There is also an option to build your own story with the map editor tool, which you may make available to all the players around the world or keep to yourself.
Enjoy the challenge whether you are a veteran of Heroes of Might & Magic, or a newcomer to the series and the turn based strategy genre.
- An epic campaign set on the mysterious continent of Jadame where rival factions must forge fragile alliances to face the Hive — a swarm of insectoids corrupted by an Inferno demon lord hell bent on subjugating the world.
- Choose from a roster of unique factions mixing returning fan favorites and brand-new creations, each with their unique gameplay style, creatures and heroes and unique faction abilities: Temple (Classic Humans), Necropolis (Undead and Vampires), Sylvan (The Forces of Nature and Fey Folks), Dungeon (Dark Elves and Underground Creatures), Hive (Demonic Insectoids), and a mysterious sixth faction to be revealed later.
- 3 main multiplayer game modes:
‣ Classic: a mode where a player can play with one or more heroes, upgrade the castle and explore the map.
‣ One-hero mode: a blitz-like system, but you have only one hero, so their demise will become yours as well!
‣ Arena: a mode for those who came to battle! Draft a hero, upgrade them, pick your troops, and challenge the enemy right away.- Dive into the epic non-linear single-player campaign to shape Jadame’s history and seal the fates of its heroes and kingdoms.
- Create your own scenarios to play or share with the other players with our complete and intuitive, pick-up-and-play in-game editor.
- Exploration and strategy: traverse the global map to collect resources and become stronger.
- Castle management: upgrade the castle and expand your kingdom.
- Faction laws that help bring uniqueness and diversity to player’s playstyle.
- A traditional hexagonal battlefield with an orthographic camera.
- New combat mechanics: active abilities are available for creatures and heroes.
- Matchmaking, ratings, and leaderboards — separate for all modes.
- Polished and improved for modern strategy players.
- A Revamped AI and multiple difficulty levels ensure a constant and adapted challenge for every type players, whether they are veterans of Heroes of Might & Magic, or newcomers to the series and the turn based strategy genre.
