My first taste of strategy games came in the form of Dune II, the 1992 real-time strategy classic from Westwood Studios (RIP). That game actually arrived ahead of Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, and for the next few years, my gaming life was a back-and-forth tussle between Warcraft and Command & Conquer. In between those releases, I ventured into turn-based strategy games, which doubled as my introduction to 4X and grand strategy through the Civilization and Master of Orion series. That stretch also covered Heroes of Might and Magic, a series I played from the start, including Heroes of Might and Magic III when it released in 1999. Ask me to remember anything specific about those years, though, and there’s not much I can accurately recall. I was heading into college around that time, which also meant a whole lot of Diablo II when that released in 2000.
All of that is to say I am now pretty excited that Ubisoft has announced Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake at gamescom Opening Night Live 2026. Last week, I had the privilege of attending a remote event previewing the game. The remake is currently slated to release sometime in 2027 on PlayStation, XBOX Series X|S, and PC, and it will mark the first time Heroes of Might and Magic III is playable on consoles. It’s also the second of two projects Ubisoft originally committed to back in 2022. The first was Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, which was designed to reawaken the brand and launched into Early Access this past April, arriving as one of the day one titles we highlighted in the Game Pass April 2026 Wave 2 lineup. The second is this remake.
For those who never played the original, Heroes of Might and Magic III was developed by New World Computing under series creator Jon Van Caneghem and published by The 3DO Company in 1999. It’s widely regarded as the peak of the series, and its two expansions, Armageddon’s Blade and The Shadow of Death, rounded out what many still consider one of the greatest turn-based strategy games ever made. When 3DO went bankrupt in 2003, Ubisoft picked up the Might and Magic rights, but the game’s history since then has been complicated. The 2015 HD Edition shipped with only the base game because the source code for both expansions had reportedly been lost, and it’s the fan community that has truly kept Heroes III alive for nearly three decades with mods, balance patches, and countless custom maps.
That community focus is clearly front and center this time around, starting with the remake’s three core pillars: authentic, modern, and timeless. Those three words shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed a remake announcement before, but Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake is genuinely taking them further than most. The game will include a map converter for classic community maps, and updated versions of the map editor and campaign editor will be available at launch, with the most popular fan maps included on the platform on day one. That means the custom maps everyone has created over the last 25 years can easily be converted to work with the remake. Ubisoft has also reconnected with the game’s original developers and many members of the modding community to discuss collaborations that further build on the legacy of Heroes of Might and Magic III. But let’s be honest, none of this matters if the remake isn’t any good. Fortunately, it is.
The truth is, I couldn’t remember much of anything about the original, even as I sat down and started playing. The preview featured two missions, starting with a prologue that ran about 30 minutes and basically served as a tutorial. It’s the first part of a brand new three-part tutorial campaign being created specifically for the remake, and it now features voice acting, though it’s nothing special (and may not even be final). After learning the basics, I was dropped into Arrogance 2026, a scenario based on the original Arrogance map that has been adapted for this gamescom preview. The demo build only included four playable factions in Castle, Tower, Inferno, and Necropolis, while the full game will have all nine, adding Rampart, Dungeon, Stronghold, Fortress, and Conflux to the list. That last one is worth noting. The Conflux wasn’t part of the original 1999 release, as it was introduced in the Armageddon’s Blade expansion. Ubisoft has since confirmed the remake packs the entire content of the original game and both of its expansions, Armageddon’s Blade and The Shadow of Death, something the 2015 HD Edition never managed.
Naturally, the remake features a major visual overhaul, rebuilt from the ground up in Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine, trading the original’s fixed 2D isometric perspective for a fully 3D world with free camera control. It also streamlines the UI and UX so everything makes a lot more sense in a modern era. There are numerous quality of life additions as well, including an Auto toggle that lets units fight on their own and a Quick Combat button that skips the fight entirely and reports back whether you won or lost. I couldn’t help putting that one to the test, retrying a failed battle a dozen times to see if the RNG would eventually swing my way. It didn’t. It was interesting to see how battles on Auto play out differently from fight to fight, though, and from what I could tell across my 90 minutes with Arrogance 2026, Auto is pretty competent.
I did finish the Arrogance 2026 scenario, though I’ll admit that was mainly because I leaned heavily on resolving battles instantly. I manually played a dozen or so fights, which unfold on a grid where you move units and attack in classic turn-based fashion. For those unfamiliar with Heroes of Might and Magic III, one of its more interesting combat wrinkles is retaliation. When one of your stacks attacks an enemy in melee, that enemy strikes back immediately, but each stack can only retaliate once per round. That has a surprisingly large impact on strategy, since you can lead with an expendable unit to absorb the retaliation before committing your heavy hitters. There’s also RNG baked into the damage math. Unlike other turn-based strategy games that give you a preview of exact numbers before you attack, Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake presents you with a range.
The other half of the game plays out on the adventure map, where you’re expanding your holdings and making sure they can defend themselves. Each turn essentially starts with managing your towns, constructing new buildings or upgrading existing ones, and recruiting units from dwellings that replenish at the start of each week. Once that’s handled, you move your armies across the map to engage wandering enemies or capture another town. The Arrogance 2026 map even had two levels to it, and I had to hop on ships to travel across water. As you take towns from other factions, you gain access to their resources, upgrades, and units, slowly assembling the army that conquers the map.
I was honestly really disappointed when the preview ended, because I just wanted to keep playing. This classic gameplay has aged extremely well, and even in 2026, I found it more engaging and fun than most recent turn-based strategy games I’ve played. Funny enough, this preview took place while I was in the middle of my first Fire Emblem: Three Houses playthrough, in preparation for Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. Between that and Star Wars Zero Company, I should have plenty of turn-based strategy to hold me over until the remake arrives.
If you follow the legacy of Heroes of Might and Magic III, you know there’s a sizable community that has kept the game relevant for almost three decades, and this remake is clearly being built with them in mind. I think that’s often the hardest thing about remakes, though. They generally appeal to passionate fans of the original, and getting a new generation of players interested is harder than you’d think, a point I also made in my Rayman Legends Retold preview earlier this year. If I’m being honest, had I only seen the announcement, I probably would have thought “oh, that looks cool” and moved on without adding it to my must-play list. After this preview, I can’t wait to dive into the full campaign and drag some friends along for multiplayer, which supports up to eight players with a simultaneous turn system, alongside the return of the fan-favorite Hot Seat mode.
If you have any interest in turn-based strategy games at all, this one’s for you. Its take on modern aesthetics captures the charm of the original, and the updated UI and UX ensures none of the gameplay feels outdated. I may have only spent two hours with Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake, but I already know I’m ready to spend dozens more when it arrives in 2027.
Heroes of Might and Magic III Preview Gallery
