When I first heard about Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, my initial reaction was one of pure skepticism. Does anyone truly want a hex-based strategy game in the modern era, especially one whose peak glory ended two decades ago? As it turns out, the answer is a resounding "yes."
Massive Sales for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era
Publisher Hooded Horse recently announced that the game sold more than 250,000 copies during its first day in early access. The launch numbers are nothing short of staggering, rivaling the massive success seen by titles like Helldivers 2.
The performance metrics on Steam highlight a very strong debut:
- Over 250,000 copies sold in less than 24 hours.
- A "very positive" overall rating with 91% of more than 3,500 user reviews being positive.
- A peak concurrent player count reaching nearly 52,000 on Steam.
The game is currently riding high on the Steam top-selling charts, proving there is a massive appetite for classic strategy.
Recouping Costs and Developer Reaction
Beyond the impressive sales, the game has achieved a vital milestone for any early access title: it has already broken even on development costs. This financial stability provides a massive cushion for the developers as they continue to expand the game's content.
The team at Unfrozen is understandably thrilled with the community's response. In a recent Steam update, the developers shared their excitement: "We are still over the moon and cannot thank you enough for believing in us and our project! 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!"
Critics are also praising the title. PC Gamer strategy professional Fraser Brown noted upon launch that the game "isn't a reimagining or a divisive reinterpretation, it's just a brilliant strategy game," adding that despite being in early access, "it's already great." If you want to test the demand for yourself, a free demo is currently available on Steam.
First Post-Launch Patch Details
To ensure a smooth experience, Unfrozen and Hooded Horse released the first patch for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era today. This update addresses several launch-day issues across various categories.
Bug Fixes and Network Updates
- Hotkeys: Fixed an issue where hotkeys would fail to save or reset correctly.
- Localization: Fixed the display of Credits in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
- Data Loading: Resolved loading issues for leaderboards and profiles in certain versions.
- Peripherals: Temporarily disabled detection for unsupported devices (like gamepads and steering wheels) to prevent input conflicts; an experimental toggle will return later.
- Network: Optimized analytics and data saving for online games launched from the lobby and fixed a rare server error.
Balance and Gameplay Adjustments
- Zookeper: Fixed template rules that caused crashes or launch errors.
- Symmetry: Resolved elevation issues causing incorrect placement of the Hell Light Arena and fixed crash-inducing template rules.
- Arcade: Added Dragon Utopias to the central area, reduced Pandora’s Boxes containing creatures, and adjusted the value of Legendary Artifacts.
- Sprint: Increased artifacts and Dragon Utopias in specific areas while reducing experience-granting Pandora's Boxes.
Localization Fixes
The patch also addressed minor typos in Russian, Spanish, and Polish, and fixed font size and spacing issues for several Asian and Ukrainian localizations. This includes critical fixes to the description of the Self‑Reconstruction ability for the Lich Dragon across all supported languages.
