Author: Liso1 December 15, 2025 2 Comments

I realize this 2026 summary is arriving a bit early, but during the holidays and Christmas season I’ll be spending very little time online. I’ve been putting this article together over the past few days late at night while putting my daughter to sleep and I didn’t expect it to grow this long. 🙂 Let’s get started…
The year 2025 proved that the Heroes of Might and Magic series still has an enormous and passionate fanbase and after a very, VERY long time, even Ubisoft, the owner of the franchise rights, finally remembered the Heroes.

We received a beautiful book mapping the full 30-year history of Heroes games, Legacy of Heroes documentary, and unforgettable concerts by Paul Romero together with the Heroes Orchestra. A card game by the Polish studio Archon is also in development, following a highly successful Kickstarter campaign.

And of course, we can’t forget the new title HoMM: Olden Era, demo is still available on Steam and has already given fans a generous dose of fun. But what awaits us in 2026?

Horn of the Abyss: Bulwark?

As the year turns from 2025 to 2026, we’ll all be eagerly awaiting news from the HotA team. I won’t even try to predict whether we’ll get just a short text update with a few screenshots of the upcoming Bulwark faction… or something more substantial.

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Olden Era: Early Access

During the first quarter of 2026, we expect Olden Era to launch into Early Access. EA should include six factions and a nonlinear campaign. The latest Steam screenshots even show underground entrance and water bodies. I’m very curious to see what surprises the developers still have in store.

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ERA Project / Wake of Gods: Still Growing

Let’s move on to Wake of Gods, or more accurately to the ERA Project, which has recently seen the release of several exciting mods, such as Arena. The project is actively maintained, bugs are quickly fixed, and if you’re using ERA through the Heroes Launcher, updates and new mods are just a click away.

What more could we ask for? Well… perhaps someone could port Cove and Factory from Horn of the Abyss into ERA. One can dream…

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Ubisoft: Mysterious remote playtest

If you’ve been following the news, you might have seen that Ubisoft conducted a closed test of a new Heroes-related game. We still have no clue what the title is. Any guesses? Did anyone manage to participate?

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VCMI 1.7: A major step forward

The VCMI platform should reach its 1.7 development build next year. It has long since stopped falling behind. With VCMI, short for Vinyar Callor Meletyo ar Ingoleo, meaning New Heroes of Might and Magic, you can easily try more than 20 new factions. Some vary wildly in quality, but others, like the desert-themed Pavilion, come impressively close to the original style.

Version 1.7 will no doubt bring new features, improved stability, and everything else you expect from a major update. There’s also the beautiful and fully original mod Fallen of the Depth, which has been in development for quite some time.

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The Succession Wars: Is a new version near?

My “swan song,” the new version of Heroes 3: The Succession Wars, feels close, but the developers have only released a handful of new maps this year, and there’s still no sign of an official release build.

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Legacy of the Silence mod is active again

The Legacy of the Silence mod, which I thought was long gone, is surprisingly active again. It looks like we might get a new version in 2026. I wish the creator all the best, according to Discord, he’s getting married. Congratulations to the newlyweds!

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Day of Reckoning: Will 2026 be the year?

I truly hope 2026 finally brings a playable build of Day of Reckoning, one of the most ambitious Heroes 3 mods ever. The latest update delivered a stunning video preview. Now we can only hope the authors find enough spare time to keep the project going.

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Heroes III Collectible Action Figures

You’ve probably noticed that official Heroes III figurines are finally coming—just like many other famous brands already have. Titan, Black Dragon, Archangel, and Arch Devil have been announced, and judging by their quality, I expect the price will be fairly high. I hope I’ll manage to secure at least one for some kind of collaboration.

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Heroes II: FHeroes2 still marches on

Heroes II also has a fantastic engine mod, Fheroes2, with ambitious plans. They’ve even released a random map generator, something sorely missing from the original game. Big things await Heroes II fans in 2026 as well.

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Heroes V and Beyond

Modding Heroes V still revolves around Heroes 5.5 and the Frax mod based on it. We should see new versions next year. What Heroes 5.5 really needs, though, is a brand-new faction. Will we get one someday?

Heroes VII survives thanks to the massive overhaul Heroes 7.5, which added the Conflux faction this year. I’m curious what the creator has planned next.

Modding for Heroes I, IV, and VI is, I’d say, effectively dead…

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What about other Heroeslike games??

Songs of Conquest is doing extremely well, and if I’m not mistaken, they’re already releasing their third paid DLC with a brand-new playable faction.

Slitherine is preparing to launch Stormbinders next year, a game very clearly inspired by Heroes III, something the studio openly acknowledges.

We’ll also be getting a new Disciples game. But if you’re hoping for a return to the roots, I have bad news: the story and gameplay will continue where the excellent Disciples: Liberation left off.

If you want to swap fantasy for a sci-fi, be sure to try Heroes of Science & Fiction, the game received a major Winter Balance update in recent days.

If you discover any other heroeslike titles, definitely let me know.

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The Heroes 3.5 WoG Portal 2026 Contest and “Did you know?” series

Of course, I’m planning another community contest next year. This year’s Obelisk Hunt was a great success with tons of entries. In 2026, we will most likely return to creating custom units using the HeroForge editor.

The Did you know? series is also progressing nicely, and by the end of the year I might even reach the symbolic number 222,  we’re currently at 216.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Heroes 3 Reddit community, which has been incredibly helpful in correcting grammatical mistakes and pointing out small inaccuracies.

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Is that everything?

Not quite 🙂 There are still at least two Heroes of Might and Magic projects I can’t talk about yet. I’ll share more when the time is right.

As you can see, 2026 is going to be a packed year for Heroes fans. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, as soon as I remember, I’ll update the article.

For now, let me wish you a wonderful Christmas season, ideally spent with family and friends.

How about a festive Heroes III hot-seat session?