The franchise is waking up after a decade of hibernation — Unfrozen studio and Hooded Horse publishing label have finally released the exact release date for Heroes of Might and Magic: Old Era on PC. The iconic turn—based strategy game — the dream of thousands of oldies – will be released in Early Access on April 30, 2026. Moreover, it will be possible to get into the game not only through the classic Steam — the title will replenish the Xbox PC Game Pass subscription library right on the day of the premiere.
Have you been waiting long? Of course, the pause dragged on a lot. The previous numbered iteration, the highly controversial Might & Magic Heroes VII, was released back in 2015. Now we are being pushed back to the very beginning of the timeline (which looks like a logical step to restart). The upcoming project, which is a full—fledged prequel to the events of the very first Might and Magic in 1995, will take the generals to uncharted lands. This is, of course, about the mysterious continent of Jadame, a location that fans of the series have not explored in detail before.
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Early Access Heroes Old Era Modes and Factions
The authors make an obvious bet on nostalgia — they promise to carefully preserve the classic gameplay, while simultaneously attaching fresh mechanics on top. The content for the launch was poured out decently — there is no smell of a core here. At launch, players will unlock six factions — combine as many as they want — and the first full-fledged act of the story campaign.
For hardcore fans, there is a separate expanse. You can safely break into multiplayer — there are already harsh rating battles and leaderboards. And for those who prefer to create by themselves, the developers will deliver a preliminary version of the map editor. Therefore, the return is planned to be monumental.
And in order to fully understand the scale of this venture, it’s worth diving a little into the past of the cult universe.
Old Era in the chronology of the Heroes of Might and Magic series
The original Heroes of Might and Magic was released back in 1995, when the New World Computing team first threw gamers onto Enroth. It was there that Lord Morglin Ironfist fought hard for the throne with a sorcerer named Alamar and the wild barbarians of the Slayers. The base of the genre was formed instantly: hexes, leveling up and endless tinkering with resources — from a banal tree to the rarest adamantium. Then, in 1998, Heroes II took over the baton. After the death of the ruler, a fierce division of the throne began between his heirs, Roland and Archibald. The continent was simply drowned in the chaos of the Succession Wars conflict.
Well, the absolute peak happened in 1999 – the release of the third part with the Restoration of Erathia campaign turned the industry around forever. Archibald the demon, Roland the king, Li Li Zhang — fans remember this delicious mix by heart, and, by the way, they still farm cards for days in the HD version of 2015.
One thing is important to understand here: the upcoming Olden Era is not a lazy remaster with an eye on Heroes 3, but a full—fledged story prequel. While Enroth sleeps peacefully, events unfold on Jadam, a continent covered in secrets from the old chronicles. The main thorn here is the ominous Swarm (yes, those giant wasps straight out of Might and Magic VIII).
Unfrozen Studio pulled off a neat trick. The developers carefully returned 126 units with classic upgrade branches in the spirit of HoMM3, but at the same time generously poured fresh mechanics. The main feature of the action game is Focus Points. Now your hero is not just a static loader dragging an army across the map, but a real combo machine, scattering skills right and left. The series is clearly evolving: they have delivered honest 3D with deep zoom and a cool non-linear plot about the war with the hive. There is a strong feeling that, in terms of the depth of the lore, the novelty is already drying up the controversial Heroes VII from Ubisoft Corporation.
