Early Access starts with six factions

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era became available in Early Access on April 30. The launch version includes Temple, Dungeon, Schism, Grove, Necropolis, and Hive, plus an in-game tutorial and the first act of the campaign.

Unfrozen also bundled more than a barebones test build. Launch-day Early Access includes premade scenarios, Classic, Single Hero, and Arena modes in both single-player and multiplayer, plus matchmaking, ranked play, leaderboards, hotseat, puzzle-style challenges, a pre-release map editor, and a wide spread of Random Map Generator templates.

Launch discount and roadmap pressure

25% Early Access release discount for the first 2 weeks
1.5 million wishlists before launch
Top 10 wishlisted spot on Steam, according to the studio

The shape of the launch is notable because many Early Access strategy games open with one mode and a promise. Olden Era is trying the opposite approach: multiple rulesets, public matchmaking, and creation tools right away. That raises the risk of rough edges, but it also gives the community far more to stress-test immediately.

Unfrozen says the next few weeks will be a hotfix cycle rather than a victory lap. It plans to ship fixes continuously after launch and publish a broader roadmap once early player feedback settles. For a strategy game going public with multiplayer balance, ranked play, and replay systems on day one, that promise matters.

The Reddit thread in r/Games sat at 452 points and 93 comments at crawl time. The tone mixed old-school Heroes nostalgia with immediate questions about balance, missing campaign acts, and how quickly post-launch fixes will arrive.

Source: Steam news · Reddit thread

#olden-era

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era hits Early Access with six factions and a 25% launch discount