Olden Era, the highly anticipated next entry in the Heroes of Might and Magic series, is finally getting a release date. Well, sort of. After several testing phases, the developers at Unfrozen have revealed that Olden Era will enter Early Access on Steam later this April. Read on to find out the exact release date, as well as everything else you need to know ahead of launch.
HoMM Olden Era Early Access Launches on April 30
Yes, you’ve read that right - and no, it’s not an April Fools’ joke, despite the announcement being released on April 1. Believe me, I’ve double-checked everything to make sure it’s not a cruel prank. In exactly a month from the time of writing, many of us who grew up playing Heroes will suddenly fall “ill” under very suspicious circumstances. That's because April 30 is the day Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era will launch in Early Access on Steam.
This has been officially confirmed in the latest announcement by the developers themselves. "With great pleasure, we are thrilled to announce that Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era will launch into Early Access on April 30th, 2026," reads the blog post on Steam. "It has been more than 10 years since the last Heroes game, and we are honored to add a new chapter to the legendary legacy we all grew up with!"
What Content to Expect in the Early Access Build
While the full scope of the Olden Era will expand over time, the Early Access version is already shaping up to be quite content-rich. At launch, players can expect a mix of single-player and multiplayer experiences, along with core systems that define the classic Heroes of Might and Magic gameplay loop. Here's everything that will await us at the early access release:
- Six factions at launch: Temple, Dungeon, Schism, Grove, Necropolis, and Hive
- In-game tutorial
- Campaign Act 1 (more acts coming at full release)
- Story-driven premade scenarios, with more added during Early Access
- Classic, Single Hero, and Arena modes (single-player and multiplayer)
- Multiplayer support with matchmaking, ranked play, and leaderboards
- Robust Random Map Generator templates for endless replayability
- Hotseat mode for local, turn-based play on one PC
- Puzzle-style challenge missions
- Early version of the map editor for custom content
Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era Early Access FAQs
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era enters Early Access on April 30, 2026.
The Early Access version will launch with six factions: Temple, Dungeon, Schism, Grove, Necropolis, and Hive.
The Early Access build will include Classic, Single Hero, and Arena modes, and all three will be playable in both single-player and multiplayer.
No. Early Access will include the opening act of the narrative campaign, while the full story across all acts is planned for the full release.
Yes. The game’s Early Access version will support multiplayer, and the Steam page says players can use those modes in both solo and multiplayer play.
Yes. Players will be able to create their own maps using a map editor available in the Early Access build.
According to the Steam page, the full version is planned to add more scenarios, more map templates, improvements to the map editor, an additional Underground map layer, and the remaining campaign acts.
Possibly. The Steam page says the developers might increase the price during the Early Access period as more content and features are added.
If you’re as excited as we are, you might want to join the official Discord server and share that excitement with other fans of this legendary strategy series. While you’re here, don’t forget to check out our Skygard Arena review for more exciting turn-based action.
Nikola is a Senior Staff Writer at Pro Game Guides with over 13 years of experience in gaming journalism. He has been playing video games since his father bought him an NES and a Sega Mega Drive in the early 1990s. Over the years, he has mainly become a PC gamer with a love for narrative-driven RPGs, real-time strategy games, and psychological/survival horror titles. Still, he enjoys any game that’s worth his time.