When I founded the Heroes 3.5 WoG Portal back in 2012, I never could have imagined how much buzz the Heroes series would generate ten years later.
At that time, Wake of Gods was at its final version 3.58f, and no one knew whether a new version would ever appear. Horn of the Abyss was still marching toward version 1.0, and VCMI didn’t even exist yet. Honestly, I didn’t think my little portal would even survive ten years. 🙂
But over the last three years, the Heroes community has been flourishing to the point where I can barely keep up with everything that’s happening!
Songs of Conquest and the HoMM III: The Board Game
The first real shake-up came with the release of Songs of Conquest, a beautiful love letter to Heroes III. Its creators openly admitted their inspiration, and the game achieved impressive sales. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, came a lightning announcement from Archon Studio in Poland: a fully licensed Heroes III: The Board Game! Many of you already have it at home just like I do.
Music, Vinyls, and the legendary Paul Anthony Romero
Poland has become something of a Heroes hotspot. Composer Paul Anthony Romero often visits, performing sold-out concerts with the incredible Heroes Orchestra. Paul is a truly kind soul, and earlier this year I was lucky enough to interview him. I simply wrote him a message on Facebook and he replied, and suddenly, we had a full video interview!
Through Gamemusic Records, Paul has released several beautiful vinyls featuring artwork by the incredibly talented Magdalena Katańska, who also contributed to the Heroes III: The Board Game visuals.
A New Chapter: G/Olden Era
While I was on vacation in 2024, Unfrozen Studio officially announced a brand-new entry in the franchise — Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era. A free demo is available on Steam, and it’s absolutely fantastic. That’s all I’ll say — and please, don’t start complaining about the “mobile graphics” in the comments. 😉
This renaissance has also inspired other new games that pay tribute to the Heroes legacy. Besides the already mentioned Songs of Conquest, we’ve seen the release of pixel-art strategy game Hero’s Hour, the sci-fi spin on the formula Heroes of Science and Fiction, the beautifully atmospheric Songs of Silence, and one of the newest projects – Stormbinders.
Even other legendary franchises have tried to rekindle their former glory: King’s Bounty II and Disciples: Liberation brought their worlds back to life, and in 2026 we’ll be getting Disciples: Domination.
30th Anniversary
For the 30th anniversary of the series, Ubisoft the current owner of the Might and Magic brand, finally woke up and delivered a nice celebration event, culminating in the Olden Era demo announcement.
The following day, they released a documentary titled “Legacy of Heroes – 30 Years of Passion”, focusing on the community that has kept the series alive for decades. And yes, for a few glorious seconds, the Heroes 3.5 WoG Portal even makes an appearance!
Next month will also see the release of Heroes of Might and Magic: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective Book, a richly illustrated volume chronicling the series’ history, including developer interviews, never-before-seen concept art, and more.
Poland strikes again
Back to Archon Studio for a moment, just a few days ago they successfully funded their next project on Gamefound: a Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game. So if you still have a few euros or dollars lying around, you can still support the campaign.
And if cards aren’t your thing, another team is developing a Heroes-themed tabletop RPG a far more complex, roleplay-heavy project. They’ve already released a free Quick Start Guide (60 pages long!), so just reading it will take you quite a bit of time.
The online store GOG.com has immortalized Heroes III by preserving it on a 5D crystal disc, designed to last 13.8 billion years at room temperature. Now that’s eternal preservation.
Wake of Gods a.k.a ERA Project
Meanwhile, the modding community is as active as ever. The Horn of the Abyss team is working on a new icy faction Bulwark with its own campaign. The creators of Day of Reckoning recently released a short gameplay video, teasing even more to come. The ERA Project, carrying on the legacy of Wake of Gods, continues to evolve. Its developers release monthly updates, fix bugs, adding new modifications and content via Heroes Launcher.
Did you know?
This summer, I organized a fun Obelisk Hunt Contest, which many of you joined with enthusiasm. Thanks to our sponsors, we had fantastic prizes, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone who also supported the Heroes 3.5 WoG Portal with a few golden coins. Thank you!
The “Did you know?” series continues, we’ve reached entry number 212, surpassing my original goal of 200. And who knows, maybe a few more will appear before the end of the year! 😀
I’ve also had the honor of connecting with Heroes III legends such as David Mullich, Greg Fulton, and of course Paul Romero. All of them are kind, humble people who still care deeply about the game, even decades after its release.
Heroes of Might and Magic future?
There’s still a lot more coming for the Heroes of Might and Magic universe but for now, I can’t tell you everything. Not yet. So that’s my long speech, I’m sure I’ve forgotten a lot of things, and I’ll probably add more later.
But one thing is certain: the spirit of Heroes is alive and stronger than ever.
By Juraj, founder of Heroes 3.5 WoG Portal
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