Heroes 3 vs Olden Era

1:48 Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is not Heroes 3 or a remake of it: it is a new game by the studio Unfrozen, in early access on Steam since Apr 30, 2026 and published by Hooded Horse and Ubisoft, with new factions, a new campaign set on the continent of Jadame and new systems, which PC Gamer calls "obviously a spiritual successor to HoMM 3, both mechanically and aesthetically" (PC Gamer, Aug 26, 2026). The game that rebuilds Heroes of Might and Magic 3 itself is Ubisoft's Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake, due in 2027, which keeps the 1999 campaigns, towns and rules in a new 3D engine; Mortismal Gaming's hands-on preview stresses that the expansions are included, the engine is Snowdrop, and the new map editor is compatible with maps made for the original. Both come from the same 2022 decision by Ubisoft to "reinvest" in the series. Olden Era has its own video wiki, Olden Era; this page compares it with Heroes 3, and how the Remake differs from the 1999 game and the 2015 edition is on Heroes 3 vs Remake vs HD Edition.

Quick facts

Sources: Ubisoft (Aug 26, 2026), Steam: Olden Era, Steam: Heroes 3 Complete, Steam: HD Edition and Steam: Remake (all read Oct 21, 2026), Ubisoft News (Jul 1, 2025), Wikipedia for Olden Era's factions, and the official Heroes 3 guide (p.2) for 1999 multiplayer.

What Olden Era keeps from Heroes 3

4:31 Both games keep Heroes 3's battles, shown here in the Remake's overview: heroes act as commanders while stacks take turns on a hex grid. PC Gamer's review of the early access version says Olden Era has "undeniably been made for those of us who played and loved HoMM3", with an art style that nods to Heroes 3 "without being beholden to it" (PC Gamer, Apr 30, 2026). What carries over, from that review:

• The same two halves. Heroes roam an adventure map collecting gold and resources and capturing buildings, then fight turn-based battles on a hex grid, with the hero standing at the edge of the field casting spells rather than fighting.
• Days, weeks and months. Each day gives a fixed amount of movement and income, and recruitment buildings refill weekly, as dwellings do in Heroes 3 on Day 1 of each week.
• Seven stacks. An army holds up to seven units of any size, and mixing factions costs morale, while high morale can give a unit a second action.
• Towns to build. Marketplaces, Mage Guilds, fortifications that raise weekly recruits, and economy buildings, paid in gold plus resources.
• Familiar factions and spells. Necropolis and Dungeon return (Wikipedia), and so do spells such as Armageddon and Dimension Door.

The people overlap too. Jon Van Caneghem, who created the series at New World Computing, joined Unfrozen as Olden Era's creative advisor in January 2026 (Unfrozen, Jan 29, 2026), and Paul Romero, one of Heroes 3's composers, writes its music with Cris Velasco (Wikipedia). Neither works on the Remake, as far as Ubisoft has said.

What is new in Olden Era

"This is not a remake", PC Gamer's review says; it has "new factions amid the familiar ones, a brand-new campaign, systems both updated and completely new" (PC Gamer, Apr 30, 2026). The main differences it describes:

• Laws. Each faction has two trees of laws, faction and army bonuses that can cut recruitment costs, deliver resources or raise weekly recruits. Heroes 3 has nothing like them.
• Magic. Mage Guilds unlock random spells as in Heroes 3, but every unlocked spell is also gathered in a Magic Observatory where it can be upgraded with resources, and neutral spells are bought with a new resource, insight. PC Gamer finds it "not especially intuitive".
• Map borders. Regions are split by borders with guardians that must be beaten even by heroes who could fly or teleport, so Dimension Door is "less powerful and cheesy" than in Heroes 3.
• Modes and maps. Five modes at early access, including the campaign, a classic match, a single-hero mode and an arena of duels; randomly generated maps alongside hand-made scenarios; and a map editor from launch.
• New factions. Its six are Temple, Necropolis, Grove, Dungeon, Hive and Schism (Wikipedia), against Heroes 3's nine towns from Castle to Conflux (Towns).

Olden Era's story is new as well: a minotaur, Gunnar, uncovers the Hive, which is corrupting Jadame, a continent that had appeared in the role-playing game Might and Magic 8 but never in a Heroes game (Wikipedia). Heroes 3's campaigns follow Queen Catherine in Erathia (Story).

Two Heroes games in one year

0:37 Olden Era and the Remake are two halves of one Ubisoft plan. "In 2022, we made an important decision. After years of silence, we decided to reinvest in the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise", the Remake team wrote; Olden Era "will introduce new stories, new factions, and new adventures", while the Remake brings "the classic experience that defined the series into the modern era" (Ubisoft dev blog, Aug 27, 2026).

PC Gamer's Fraser Brown, who reviewed Olden Era and played the Remake before its reveal, found it "bizarre" to see a Heroes 3 remake share the limelight with a game that already feels like Heroes 3's natural evolution: "There's just a heck of a lot of overlap." He still welcomed both after more than a decade without a new Heroes game, noting that the Remake and Olden Era's 1.0 are both expected in 2027 (PC Gamer, Aug 26, 2026). Olden Era sold 250,000 copies in its first day and 1 million in under a month (PC Gamer, May 28, 2026), and Steam counted 4,862 players in it at 17:47 UTC on Oct 21, 2026, against 1,720 in the Heroes 3 HD Edition.

Which should you play?

That depends on what you want, and the press does not pick one for everyone:

• The real 1999 game, today: Heroes 3 with both expansions is the Complete Edition ($9.99 on Steam and GOG); many players add the fan-made, unofficial Horn of the Abyss and HD mod, which Ubisoft says this version supports (How to Play Heroes 3 Today).
• Heroes 3 rebuilt in 3D, with online play and new interface help: wait for the Remake in 2027, or sign up for its Remake Closed Playtest in November 2026. Its art has drawn criticism, and Ubisoft says it is refining several creature models (Reception and Legacy).
• Something new in the Heroes 3 mold: Olden Era, which PC Gamer calls "already great" in early access while warning that "you lose nothing by waiting" for 1.0 (PC Gamer, Apr 30, 2026). Steam players rate it "Very Positive", 87% of 23,558 reviews (Oct 21, 2026).

Where Olden Era sits among the other Heroes games is on Heroes of Might and Magic Series.

Frequently asked questions

Is Olden Era a remake of Heroes 3? No: Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is a new game with new factions and a new campaign on Jadame; the remake of Heroes 3 is Ubisoft's separate Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake, due in 2027.

Is Olden Era like Heroes 3? Yes, closely: PC Gamer calls Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era "obviously a spiritual successor to HoMM 3, both mechanically and aesthetically", with the same adventure map, hex-grid battles, seven-stack armies and weekly recruitment, plus new systems such as faction laws.

Which is better, Heroes 3 or Olden Era? There is no settled answer: PC Gamer calls Heroes of Might and Magic 3 "still the gold standard" and Olden Era "already great" in early access, and Steam players rate Olden Era "Very Positive" (87%, Oct 21, 2026).

Are Olden Era and the Heroes 3 Remake made by the same studio? No: Olden Era is developed by Unfrozen and published by Hooded Horse and Ubisoft, while the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake is developed by Ubisoft's Chengdu and Shanghai studios; both came out of Ubisoft's 2022 decision to reinvest in the series.

Should I wait for the Heroes 3 Remake or buy Olden Era? Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is playable now for $39.99 in early access, while the Heroes 3 Remake has no release date or price beyond "2027", as of Oct 21, 2026; players who want the original game can buy Heroes 3 Complete for $9.99.

Is Olden Era a prequel? Yes: Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is set on Jadame before the first Heroes game, and its Steam page calls it "the official prequel" to the series.

Sources

• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era isn't a reimagining or a divisive reinterpretation, it's just a brilliant strategy game, PC Gamer, Apr 30, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era teases a roguelike mode as it hits 1 million sales, PC Gamer, May 28, 2026
• I've played Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Remake, and I still can't believe we're getting 2 HoMMs in the same year, PC Gamer, Aug 26, 2026
• Ubisoft Teams Up With Hooded Horse and Unfrozen on Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Ubisoft News, Jul 1, 2025
• Ubisoft Reveals Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake at Gamescom, Ubisoft via Games Press, Aug 26, 2026
• Welcome Back to Erathia (dev blog), Ubisoft on Steam, Aug 27, 2026
• Jon Van Caneghem teams up with Unfrozen, Unfrozen, Jan 29, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes Of Might And Magic III, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• GetNumberOfCurrentPlayers, Steam Web API (Valve), read Oct 21, 2026, 17:47 UTC
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, Prima Publishing, 1999 (p.2)
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Wikipedia, revision of Oct 5, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake - Gameplay Overview Trailer, Ubisoft, Aug 26, 2026 (video)
• Heroes Of Might & Magic 3 Remake - Early Preview, Mortismal Gaming, Aug 26, 2026 (video)