- Might and Magic: Olden Era launches in early access on April 30, 2026
- The game's community manager explained the launch will let the team "not only just read the feedback from our community (from newcomers, from veterans, and so on) but also act upon it"
- "There are a lot of things that go into this early access", he said
A legendary strategy franchise is coming back for the first new entry in more than a decade in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, which is set to release in early access later this month.
Speaking to TechRadar Gaming ahead of the launch, community manager Bart Podress-Leszek explained that the decision to launch in early access reflects the team's desire to listen closely to the wants of players.
"We want to do all of the development with community in mind," he began. "Launching the game as an early access title means that we can actively not only just read the feedback from our community (from newcomers, from veterans, and so on) but also act upon it."
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Although the intention is clearly to expand the game over time, Podress-Leszek thinks that the initial version coming soon is still a very robust package with plenty to offer prospective players.
"There are a lot of things that go into this early access. You've got six factions. You've got so many game modes to play in, both single and multiplayer. You've got hot seat, which is a mode that's not often in games anymore," he said.
"And you've got the map editor, which is still going to be in beta stage, but we'll be improving it with early access, so people will already be able to create their own stories. Then, of course, there's the first act of campaign, which is also going to be quite decently sized."
He then added that any new entry in the Heroes of Might and Magic series is "actually a very big project" with "a lot of things in it" for fans to play.
"It may seem small, but once you start adding those things up [the game] actually ends up having a large amount of content."
As it's been such a long time since the last Heroes of Might and Magic title, considerations are also being made for complete newcomers.
There's a dedicated tutorial, a range of difficulty levels, and the sheer number of modes gives you the ability to customize the experience to make it more manageable when you're just starting out.
The developer highlights the single hero mode as a good way to grasp "the core experience of the game, without having to worry about too many heroes and too many avenues of danger" to manage.
The early access launch comes off the back of the success of a free demo released in October 2025, which helped catapult the game to its current position as the tenth most-wishlisted title on Steam.
Podress-Leszek revealed that the team is "very happy with the reception overall," but isn't becoming complacent. "We received a lot of useful, critical feedback that was put into the game," he said.
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is set to launch in PC early access on April 30, 2026.
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