14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that Ubisoft is working on a new videogame in the Heroes of Might & Magic series, as detailed by a job listing for a lead game designer on the project. The company is not even trying to hide the real identity of the project, saying that the “Heroes of MM” game, which is being developed, is a “brand new fantasy RPG title for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Mac.” The studio in charge of the title seems to be the one recently set up in Shanghai by the French publisher.
It's nice to see that Ubisoft is keen on adding a new chapter to one of the most loved franchises, which has seen little quality content in the last few years, but there's one ambiguity in the job announcement detailed above. The company is only referring to a “RPG title,” which could mean that a turn-based strategy title is not what Ubisoft plans to create.
Instead, gamers might be on track to get a new straight up role playing title like Dark Messiah of Might & Magic. It would be interesting to get a clarification from Ubisoft, especially considering that the company has chosen not to hide its intentions related to the new project so far.
Heroes of Might & Magic 2 and 3 fascinated gamers by combining town management with turn and hex-based battles comprised of complex lore and a wide array of fantastic creatures.
The games were deep and, at time, very tough, which made the franchise a niche success. Heroes of Might & Magic 4 abandoned the world of Enroth and altered the gameplay balance to less than satisfying results. The fifth game in the series, the first not to be developed by New World Computing, moved the battles to 3D, again alienating long-time fans. In 2008, fans of Heroes of Might & Magic got an interesting surprise in the form of King's Bounty, a game that embraced turn and hex-based battles while forgoing the town management element.