Classic strategy franchise returns with Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era in early access

Developer Unfrozen has made the game Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era available in early access format for computers. The title marks the return of the traditional turn-based strategy franchise to the digital games market. Players take on the role of commanders leading armies in a medieval fantasy universe. The central proposal of the work involves the methodical exploration of broad maps, the collection of materials and the administrative management of fortified cities.

The project seeks to rescue the mechanical basis established by the classic Heroes of Might and Magic 3, originally released in 1999. The development team chose to create a new work instead of producing a re-release with updated graphics. The new title introduces original factions, a complete narrative campaign and restructured progression systems. The commercial intention is to attract the series’ veteran audience and, simultaneously, introduce the virtual board format to new consumers of the tactical genre.

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is now available in Early Access!

Set in the fantasy world of Enroth, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is a brand new entry in the legendary series of turn-based strategies. Don't miss the 25% early access release discount! pic.twitter.com/HkLYjWKvcI

— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) April 30, 2026

Dinâmica of exploration and combat on a hexagonal board

The progression structure divides the user experience into two fundamental gameplay steps. The first phase focuses the actions on exploring the main map of the continent. The hero travels through different kingdoms, collects resources spread across the landscape and claims passive income-generating structures. Inimigos controlled by artificial intelligence guard valuable artifacts and mineral extraction mines. Advancement requires constant caution. Heróis adversaries also roam the territory in search of territorial advantages and expansion of borders.

Direct confrontations take place on an isolated battlefield shaped like a hexagonal grid. Army units, which include creatures as varied as fairies, knights, and dragons, act according to individual attributes of speed and initiative. The main commander does not engage in hand-to-hand combat against enemy troops. The hero remains positioned at the edge of the tactical arena. Dessa secure position, the leader casts offensive spells and applies passive bonuses to influence the outcome of the clash. Tactical complexity increases significantly as troop sizes grow over the weeks in the game.

Gestão of resources and troop recruitment

Maintaining a competitive army depends on a solid economic infrastructure in player-controlled cities. Unit recruitment does not require payment of ongoing shift wages. However, the initial purchase of soldiers and the construction of military buildings require large amounts of gold, wood and iron. The player needs to build markets, defensive fortifications and specialized training centers to ensure a constant flow of new troops. Rigorous financial planning defines the pace of the empire’s expansion.

The squad formation process follows strict cost and waiting time rules. The creation of griffins in the Templo faction illustrates this long-term investment mechanic. The player needs to build a nest at a cost of 3,250 gold coins, five units of wood and five units of iron. The structure allows the immediate purchase of seven creatures for 1,785 coins. The stock of units available in cities is renewed weekly. Additional Melhorias in fortifications increases the production capacity of soldiers, but requires new supplies of rare materials found on the map.

The game’s economy operates competitively between all factions present in the match. Enemy heroes actively seek to capture resource mines and invade unprotected cities. The loss of an extraction structure stops the military production chain immediately. The player must keep secondary heroes patrolling the borders to prevent surprise invasions. A positioning error can result in the loss of vital territories for supporting troops. Recovering stolen goods consumes precious turns and delays the development of the main campaign.

Sistema of magic requires planning and guild building

Accessing combat and utility spells requires constructing specific buildings and strategically moving leaders around the map. Magic is not automatically released upon gaining experience levels. The player needs to invest resources in the magical infrastructure of their cities to expand the mystical arsenal available. The learning process involves multiple stages of administrative management.

• Guild Construção: Founding a mage guild in the city generates a random selection of starting spells for the faction.
• Heroes’ Visita: The commander needs to physically travel to the city with the guild to learn the spells available in that urban center.
• Magical Observatório: The structure centralizes all spells discovered in the empire and allows daily improvement of skills using resources.
• Neutral Magia: Utility Habilidades require spending astrology points for manual unlocking in city research trees.

Investing in high-level magic shifts the balance of power during the campaign’s toughest battles. Mass Destruction Feitiços, like Armageddon, deals damage to all units present on the tactical board. Using these abilities requires specific army compositions to avoid annihilating your own allied troops. Neutral category spells offer direct advantages outside of combat. Teleporting between allied cities and gaining extra movement points speeds up map exploration and makes it easier to defend distant territories.

Modos game and creation tools for the community

The early access package delivers five distinct game modes for different user profiles. The main campaign features hand-drawn maps with specific narrative objectives and story progression. Players can also start customized matches in scenarios generated procedurally by the system. The mechanism guarantees the creation of new maps with each new session started. The title also includes a mode focused on controlling a single hero and an arena dedicated to direct tactical combat without the scenario exploration phase.

Unfrozen included an integrated map editor right from the initial launch of the project on the sales platform. The tool allows the community to create and share personalized scenarios with their own victory rules. The behavior of artificial intelligence during matches demonstrates aggressiveness and constant tactical adaptation capacity. Enemies assess the player’s defenses before launching a siege on a city. The current state of the software is generally technically stable, with minor turn-stopping errors that are resolved by reloading the most recent save file. Game development will continue over the next few months based on technical feedback provided by active players.