- The long-lasting Heroes of Might and Magic series returns in the first new installment in over a decade
- Heroes of Might and Magic: Ancient Era is a prequel helmed by a new developer
- “I feel like this is one of those generational games,” said the studio’s community manager
The Heroes of Might and Magic series has been dormant for more than a decade, with the last main entry, Heroes of Might and Magic 5drops back in 2015. Now it’s coming back — helmed by indie developer Unfrozen and published by both strategy titan Hooded Horse and franchise owner Ubisoft.
The revival has already made quite a splash, shooting up the charts to become the tenth most wanted title on PC gaming platform Steam following the launch of an incredibly popular free demo back in October 2025. Things are looking promising – but taking the reins of such a long-running and storied franchise, especially one with such a long-standing fanbase, isn’t easy.
“I feel like this is one of those generational games,” community manager Bart Podress-Leszek said in a recent interview with TechRadar Gaming. “Three decades ago it came into the market and essentially created this whole genre around it.”
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He pointed to the many spiritual sequels, which include recent releases such as Songs of Conquest and Heroes of Science and Fictionbut claimed that while there have been “various successes”, there is still “nothing” quite like what “the original series has done.”
He added that the franchise is “its own thing” compared to other strategy titles, describing it as a “mother game” from which “everything else springs.” He pointed to people who Civilization and Call of Duty as similar examples, saying that they truly shaped their respective genres.
Podress-Leszek also discussed the importance of high fan expectations. “It’s not just a game you’re developing. It’s a multi-generational title that’s gone through millions and millions of iterations and changes between all the games that were made,” he said. “And even the ones that weren’t released.”
“You’re watching [a series with] many fans who have many different expectations depending on which game they played the most. And you must fulfill all that.”
According to the developer, the team was also careful to respect previous titles. “There’s 30 years of legacy, if you include the RPGs, it’s 40 years,” he said. This led to the decision to create a prequel, with events taking place on the continent of Jadame, previously featured in the role-playing game (RPG) Might and Magic 8: Day of the Destroyer.
“We have this whole new realm of possibilities because we’re not infringing on what’s already been made, but creating something that’s woven into it instead,” he continued. “There’s just a lot of creative freedom for us.”
Heroes of Might and Magic: Ancient Era is set to launch in early access on April 30, 2026.
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