Upon first hearing about Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, my immediate thought was, “What’re ya doin’?” In an era dominated by fast-paced gaming, one might question the relevance of a hex-based strategy game, especially one that peaked two decades ago. However, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, with publisher Hooded Horse announcing that the game sold over 250,000 copies within its first day of early access.
This impressive figure is complemented by another remarkable statistic: 91% of the more than 3,500 user reviews on Steam are favorable, resulting in a “very positive” overall rating. The game also achieved a peak concurrent player count of nearly 52,000 on Steam, rivaling the numbers seen by popular titles like Helldivers 2. Currently, HoMM:OE is enjoying a prominent position on Steam’s top-selling games chart.
Over 250,000 copies sold in less than 24 hours. 91% positive reviews on Steam. Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has had an incredible launch. We’re so thrilled that players are loving this game as much as we’ve loved publishing it. 💛 Congratulations to the @unfrozenofficial.bsky.social team!— @hoodedhorse.bsky.social (@hoodedhorse.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-05-01T21:22:35.434Z
The team at Unfrozen expressed their excitement, stating, “This is a childhood dream come true for the whole team, and we promise to use this opportunity you’ve given us to the best of our abilities!” They emphasized that despite being in early access, the game is already proving to be a brilliant strategy experience.
What I initially underestimated was the demand for a game that embraces a nostalgic era of gaming with such fervor. For those still skeptical, a demo is available on Steam, allowing potential players to experience the game firsthand.
Patch Updates and Improvements
In addition to its successful launch, Unfrozen and Hooded Horse have released the first patch for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, addressing various issues that arose during the launch. The patch notes include:
- Bug Fixes
- Resolved issues with hotkeys not saving or resetting correctly.
- Corrected the display of credits in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
- Fixed data loading issues for leaderboards and profiles in certain versions.
- Temporarily disabled detection of unsupported peripherals to prevent conflicts with keyboard and mouse controls, with plans for an experimental feature in future updates.
- Network Enhancements
- Optimized analytics and data saving for online games launched from the lobby.
- Fixed a rare server error occurring in the lobby.
- Balance Adjustments
- Zookeper
- Fixed template rules that could lead to launch errors or crashes during gameplay.
- Symmetry
- Addressed elevation issues affecting the placement of Hell Light Arena.
- Fixed template rules that could cause launch errors or crashes.
- Arcade
- Added Dragon Utopias to the central area.
- Reduced the number of Pandora’s Boxes containing creatures in the central area.
- Adjusted the value of Dragon Utopias and Legendary Artifacts.
- Increased the number of points of interest with single rewards.
- Sprint
- Removed Pandora’s Boxes that grant experience.
- Increased the number of artifacts available.
- Adjusted the distribution of reward values across areas 4—7.
- Zookeper
- Localization Fixes
- Corrected minor typos in Russian localization.
- Fixed font size issues on the clock in Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
- Addressed spacing issues in Ukrainian localization.
