Heroes of Might and Magic Series

The Heroes of Might and Magic series has eight main games: Heroes of Might and Magic (1995), Heroes 2 (1996), Heroes 3 (1999) and Heroes 4 (2002) from New World Computing, then under Ubisoft Heroes 5 (2006), Might and Magic Heroes 6 (2011), Might and Magic Heroes 7 (2015) and Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, in early access since Apr 30, 2026. A ninth release, the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake, rebuilds the 1999 game for 2027. Jon Van Caneghem created the series at New World Computing as a turn-based strategy offshoot of his Might and Magic role-playing games; it passed to The 3DO Company in 1996 and to Ubisoft in 2003 (Wikipedia). Heroes 3 is the one most often called the best, and the one both of Ubisoft's 2026 projects look back to (Heroes 3 vs Olden Era).

Quick facts

The games in order

Each main game also had expansions, among them Heroes 2's The Price of Loyalty (1997), Heroes 3's Armageddon's Blade (1999) and The Shadow of Death (2000) and the eight Heroes Chronicles episodes (2000 to 2001), Heroes 4's The Gathering Storm (2002) and Winds of War (2003), Heroes 5's Hammers of Fate (2006) and Tribes of the East (2007), Heroes 6's Shades of Darkness (2013) and Heroes 7's Trial by Fire (2016) (Wikipedia). Heroes 3 has also been re-released twice, as the HD Edition (2015) and, on Steam, as the Complete Edition (Aug 25, 2026).

The New World Computing years (1995 to 2003)

New World Computing's 1990 game King's Bounty, designed by Jon Van Caneghem, "largely anticipated the design of Heroes", and Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest took its ideas further for MS-DOS in 1995 (Wikipedia). Every game has the same frame: heroes lead armies of fantasy creatures across an adventure map, collecting resources and capturing towns and mines, and fight in turn-based battles on a grid; each day is a turn and creatures are recruited weekly. Heroes 2 added secondary skills and creature upgrades (Wikipedia).

The first three games and the Chronicles share the Might and Magic world: Heroes 1 and 2 on the continent of Enroth, following the Ironfist family, and Heroes 3 on Antagarich, where Queen Catherine returns to a divided Erathia (Story). Heroes 3 grew the formula rather than changing it: eight towns (nine with Armageddon's Blade), seven creatures per town, all upgradable, an underground layer, and seven creature slots per hero instead of five (GameSpot, Mar 1, 1999). Heroes 4 changed more, letting heroes fight on the battlefield and moving the story to the new world of Axeoth after Enroth was destroyed (Wikipedia). It was New World Computing's last Heroes game: 3DO laid off much of the studio in April 2002 and went bankrupt in May 2003 (Development History).

Ubisoft's years (2003 to today)

Ubisoft bought the Might and Magic rights from 3DO for $1.3 million in 2003 and restarted the story: Heroes 5 (2006, Nival) and the "Might and Magic Heroes" games that followed, 6 (2011, Black Hole Entertainment) and 7 (2015, Limbic Entertainment), are set in a new world, Ashan (Wikipedia). After Heroes 7 the series went quiet for a decade apart from re-releases; PC Gamer wrote that it had "largely seemed to have been forgotten by owner Ubisoft" (PC Gamer, May 28, 2026). Online and mobile spin-offs appeared in between, such as Might and Magic Heroes Online (2014) and Might and Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos (2017), along with the puzzle game Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (2009) (Wikipedia).

0:37 In 2022, Ubisoft says, it "decided to reinvest in the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise", which produced two projects: Olden Era and the Heroes 3 Remake (Ubisoft dev blog, Aug 27, 2026).

Olden Era (2026)

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is developed by Unfrozen, the studio behind Iratus: Lord of the Dead, and published by Hooded Horse and Ubisoft, and set on the continent of Jadame (Ubisoft, Jul 1, 2025); its Steam page calls it "the official prequel" to the series (Steam). Announced at Gamescom 2024, it entered early access on Steam on Apr 30, 2026, sold 250,000 copies in a day and 1 million in under a month (PC Gamer, May 28, 2026), and is expected to leave early access in 2027 (PC Gamer, Aug 26, 2026). It costs $39.99 on Steam and is rated "Very Positive", 87% of 23,558 reviews (Steam, Oct 21, 2026). Olden Era has its own video wiki: Olden Era.

The Might and Magic role-playing games

Heroes began as a spin-off. Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum, programmed by Van Caneghem, came out for the Apple II in 1986, and the main series ran to Might and Magic 9 (2002) under New World Computing; Might and Magic 6 to 8 were set on Enroth and their stories overlap with the first three Heroes games, and Ubisoft added Might and Magic X: Legacy in 2014 (Wikipedia). Ubisoft also made the action game Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006), which continues the story of Heroes 5.

Which Heroes game is best?

0:20 Critics and Ubisoft agree on Heroes 3; Ubisoft's Remake overview calls it "one of the greatest strategy games of all time". PC Gamer: it "has long been considered the pinnacle of the strategy series" and is "still the gold standard" (PC Gamer, Apr 30, 2026), and Ubisoft calls it "one of the most celebrated entries in the entire franchise" (Ubisoft dev blog, Aug 27, 2026). Earlier games had their own honors: Heroes 2 sits at No. 31 in Computer Gaming World's Hall of Fame (Wikipedia), and in 1999 Next Generation put the whole series at No. 31 of its "Top 50 Games of All Time" (Wikipedia). Why Heroes 3 in particular lasted is on Reception and Legacy.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Heroes of Might and Magic games in order? The Heroes of Might and Magic games in order are Heroes of Might and Magic (1995), Heroes 2 (1996), Heroes 3 (1999), Heroes 4 (2002), Heroes 5 (2006), Might and Magic Heroes 6 (2011), Might and Magic Heroes 7 (2015) and Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era (early access 2026), with the Heroes 3 Remake due in 2027.

What is the best Heroes of Might and Magic game? Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is the one critics most often name: PC Gamer called it "the pinnacle" of the series and "still the gold standard" in 2026.

Is Olden Era a sequel to Heroes 3? No: Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is a new game by Unfrozen set on Jadame, a prequel to the first Heroes game, though PC Gamer calls it "a spiritual successor to HoMM 3, both mechanically and aesthetically".

Who owns Heroes of Might and Magic? Ubisoft has owned Heroes of Might and Magic since 2003, when it bought the Might and Magic rights from the bankrupt 3DO Company for $1.3 million; Olden Era is made by Unfrozen under an agreement with Ubisoft and Hooded Horse.

Is there a Heroes of Might and Magic 8? There is no game called Heroes 8: after Might and Magic Heroes 7 (2015) the next Heroes of Might and Magic game is Olden Era, in early access since Apr 30, 2026.

Which Heroes games are on Steam? Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is on Steam as the HD Edition (2015) and the Complete Edition (since Aug 25, 2026), the Heroes 3 Remake can be wishlisted there, and Olden Era is sold in early access.

Sources

• Heroes of Might and Magic III Review, GameSpot, Mar 1, 1999
• Heroes of Might and Magic IV Review, GameSpot, Apr 2, 2002
• Heroes of Might and Magic V Review, GameSpot, May 23, 2006
• Might and Magic Heroes VI Review, GameSpot, Nov 30, 2011
• 3DO Ships Heroes of Might and Magic III for Macintosh, The 3DO Company, Dec 21, 1999
• Ubi Soft going for 3DO's Might and Magic, WorthPlaying, Aug 8, 2003
• Ubisoft Teams Up With Hooded Horse and Unfrozen on Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Ubisoft News, Jul 1, 2025
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• 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 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
• Heroes of Might and Magic, Wikipedia, revision of Oct 8, 2026
• New World Computing, Wikipedia, revision of Oct 2, 2026
• Jon Van Caneghem, Wikipedia, revision of Aug 31, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake - Gameplay Overview Trailer, Ubisoft, Aug 26, 2026 (video)