'Did You Destroy My Favorite Game?': How Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Fans Are Steering Ubisoft's Remake

Ubisoft's recent Gamescom reveal of a Heroes of Might and Magic 3 remake for 1999's classic strategy game has fans buzzing—and not just because it's a simple touch-up. Slated for a 2027 release on consoles and PC, this version goes all-in with a 3D world replacing the original's isometric 2D view, a brand-new prologue campaign, cinematic cutscenes, and tweaks designed to make the game more approachable for modern players, all without compromising the core experience.

IGN caught up with Jean-Felix Monin, Creative Director at Ubisoft China, to discuss how the game's fiercely loyal community has been instrumental in shaping this ambitious project.

"Our goal was to honor the community that's been clamoring for a remake for years," Monin said. "We reached out to key community figures—people we'd collaborated with on other projects like the board game—and brought them in as consultants. They helped us navigate major shifts, like moving from 2D to 3D with dynamic weather and seasons, and served as our compass for any gameplay changes."

The team's guiding principle? Keep the gameplay sacred. "The original is considered a masterpiece, and when you play it, you understand why," Monin explained. "We decided early on not to touch the gameplay—all systems, all balancing stay exactly the same. That way, we could answer the fan's biggest fear: 'Did you destroy my favorite game?' We couldn't, because we didn't touch it. Then we asked, 'What can we add without altering that core?' That meant upgrading the graphics and adding quality-of-life features to help newcomers ease into the unique mechanics."

The new prologue campaign serves a dual purpose: it introduces new players to the game's systems while filling narrative gaps. "The original lacked a proper tutorial, just throwing you in with a manual," Monin noted. "We wanted to teach the game more effectively. Plus, there were loose ends in the story about what happens before Catherine arrives in Erathia and Antagarich. Merging those seemed like a natural fit—it's the first thing you play, so it eases you into both the story and the gameplay."

The original Heroes of Might and Magic 3 earned a 9/10 from IGN, with our review praising it as a triumphant return and urging both veterans and newcomers to dive in. Monin shares that sentiment: "We want to connect with fans through nostalgia, to evoke the feeling they had 20-plus years ago. And from there, we hope new players will be drawn in as well."