Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Gets April 30 Early Access Release Date

Update (October 2026): Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era entered Steam Early Access, a paid pre-release version, on April 30, 2026, as planned. It is still in Early Access. It passed one million copies sold on Steam within a month, and a September patch added co-op and team play. Our original report follows, with the faction list corrected.

After a long wait, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era finally has a firm date. Hooded Horse, Unfrozen and Ubisoft have confirmed that the strategy revival will enter Steam Early Access on April 30, 2026.

It will also be available the same day on the Microsoft Store through Game Preview, Microsoft’s own early access program, and on PC Game Pass from day one.

Where and when the game is set

Olden Era is set on Enroth, the world of the first three Heroes games, before the events of the original Heroes of Might and Magic.

It takes place on the continent of Jadame. Jadame was the setting of Might and Magic VIII but has never appeared in a Heroes game before.

The pitch will feel familiar to longtime fans: empire building, turn-based tactical battles, hero progression and city management. At the same time, the game is clearly aimed at newcomers as well as veterans.

Six factions and a campaign about the Hive

Players choose from six factions: Temple, Necropolis, Grove, Dungeon, Hive and Schism.

The campaign follows a minotaur named Gunnar. He uncovers a new threat, the Hive, which is corrupting the lands of Jadame. Former rivals across the continent must unite against the Hive’s leader, the Dragonfly King.

Plenty to do after the story

Olden Era offers procedurally generated maps, which the game builds at random, as well as hand-crafted ones. A map editor lets players build their own.

That matters for a Heroes game. The series has always lasted because players keep experimenting with factions, maps and builds long after the campaign ends.

Early Access is meant to shape the full game

The Steam page is clear that the April 30 version is not the finished product. The developers say feedback during Early Access will shape the full release.

That release is planned to add more scenarios and map templates, improvements to the map editor and an additional underground map layer.

A free Steam demo, released on October 9, 2025, gave players an early taste. It included a series of tutorials, four factions (Temple, Necropolis, Dungeon and Schism) and three modes: Arena, Single Hero and Classic.

Five months into Early Access

The launch build included:

• all six factions
• the first act of the campaign
• premade scenarios and a pre-release map editor
• the Classic, Single Hero and Arena modes

Players can expect the rest of the campaign with the full release, according to the Steam page.

Sales started quickly. Unfrozen announced more than 250,000 copies sold on Steam 24 hours after launch. About a month in, it announced more than one million copies on Steam.

Regular patches have followed. The biggest content additions so far are:

• The Mysterious Island (August 20): a large single-player map, remade by Papyjama from one of the most popular custom maps for Heroes of Might and Magic III.
• Alliances (September 30): team and co-op play for both PvE and PvP, released with an advanced random map generator that the developers call the most advanced in the series.

What comes next on the roadmap?

Unfrozen published an Early Access roadmap in May 2026. Here is how it breaks down:

• Stage 1: team play was the headline feature. With Alliances out, Unfrozen says its Q3 roadmap goals are complete.
• Stage 2, aimed at the end of the year: a matchmaking rework, a rework of elite classes, and observer mode with replays.
• Later, on the road to version 1.0: classic series features, including an underground map layer and the Thieves’ Guild, which gives players more information about their enemies.
• The 1.0 release: the final stage, set to complete the campaign with acts 2 and 3.

Unfrozen said in the roadmap that it would share more details on timing in the future, and the Steam page says the one-year Early Access estimate could change with player feedback.