After more than a decade of silence, the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise returns with Olden Era, a new installment that will land in early access on April 30, 2026. Community manager Bart Podress-Leszek has detailed that this strategy seeks to integrate the community into development, gathering feedback from both newcomers and veterans to polish the experience before the full release.
Open Development: How the Community Will Shape the Game 🎮
The studio has opted for a direct feedback cycle with players during early access. According to Podress-Leszek, the team will read and act on the feedback received, adjusting mechanics, balance, and content iteratively. This methodology allows for real-time course correction, avoiding the need to wait for later patches. The first weeks are expected to be key in defining the direction of features such as the faction system and enemy artificial intelligence.
The Patch of Truth, or How to Survive Feedback 😅
Because, of course, nothing unites a community more than spending months telling developers that the starting hero is broken, that the dungeons are too long, and that the main menu should be purple. Olden Era promises to listen to all of that, though there will surely be a group asking for the return of the 1995 combat system while another demands photorealistic graphics. In the end, early access is like group therapy: everyone talks, but the therapist (i.e., the studio) decides what to prescribe.