Multiplayer

3:27 Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has online multiplayer in all three of its modes, Classic, Single Hero and Arena, each with ranked 1v1 matchmaking and its own leaderboard, plus custom lobbies for friends, hotseat on one PC, and since Sep 30, 2026 Alliances for co-op against the AI and team games (Unfrozen, Unfrozen). Unfrozen says the matchmaking, player profiles and ladder are a first for the series (Unfrozen). It ran its first official tournament, the Alvari Cup, from Aug 1, 2026 with 16 invited players, and the Roadmap Patch of Sep 30 reset the ranked ladder with a new rating system.

Quick facts

Ways to play together

1:57 Unfrozen promised from the start that "we don't have to choose between a single- and multiplayer focus" (Unfrozen). Early Access launched on Apr 30, 2026 with Classic, Single Hero and Arena "in both single-player and multiplayer", "matchmaking, ranked play, and leaderboards for all three modes", and hotseat, "allowing you to play against friends and family one after another on a single PC" (Unfrozen).

• Classic: several heroes, towns and the whole map, on Classic templates such as Jebus Cross (Game Modes).
• Single Hero: one hero whose death loses the game, on faster templates.
• Arena: a draft of hero, skills, artifacts, spells and army, then one battle.
• Custom lobbies: invite friends with the Invite button or a lobby code, with or without a password; Patch #3 added a version check on invites to prevent desyncs (Unfrozen). Scenario maps cannot be played there since Patch #2.
• Alliances: co-op against the AI or team against team, with simultaneous turns and shared victory.
• Hotseat: players take turns on one PC; Steam lists shared or split screen PvP and co-op.

In December 2024 Unfrozen said there was no offline LAN or direct connection to a lobby "at the moment" (Unfrozen), and no later announcement adds one. Beta players play on their own server: anyone on the Balance Update Beta only meets other beta players.

Ranked matchmaking

5:05 Each mode has its own rating and ladder. A closed, NDA-bound ranked playtest ran before launch (sign-ups from Mar 25, 2026) and a one-day Arena stress test on Apr 22, 2026 (Unfrozen, Unfrozen). Since launch Unfrozen has changed the rules several times:

• Sep 30, 2026, the Roadmap Patch: automatic cheater detection and a low-priority queue; everyone starts at a rating of 1000 whatever skill level they chose; extra points for calibration wins; gains and losses by rank, from 40 for a win and 10 for a loss at the lowest rank to 10 and 40 at the highest; a bigger effect of the rating gap between players; and a reset of the leaderboard (Unfrozen). Unfrozen says "more significant changes" will follow, in line with Stage 2 of the Early Access Roadmap, a "matchmaking system rework".
• In the beta (Oct 15, 2026): a loss would cost 40 points in every division, and a win would be worth 40 in Iron, Bronze and Silver, 35 in Gold, 30 in Platinum, 25 in Diamond and 20 in Master; Iron and Bronze would get no restarts, Master two and the rest one (Unfrozen).

Players choose from a rotating pool of templates. After Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026) the Classic pool is Jebus Cross, Universe, Infinity, Last Fortress, Jebus Tournament and Arcade, with Jebus Cross and Jebus Tournament always included, and the Single Hero pool is Helltide, Sprint, Exodus, Blitz, Outcast Tournament and Vendetta (Unfrozen). The beta would drop Last Fortress from Classic and make Single Hero Exodus, Outcast Tournament, Helltide, Sprint and Mix (Random Map Generator).

Pick and ban, timers and simultaneous turns

Ranked games open with a faction ban and pick. Since Patch #11 the order is Player 1 bans, Player 2 bans, Player 1 picks, Player 2 picks, and who is Player 1 is decided at random rather than by time in the queue (Unfrozen). The roadmap lists "Alternatives to Pick & Ban for PVP" for 1.0.

Timers work like a modified chess clock: base time for the match, more each day, bonus time each week, with a separate clock for each battle, all set in the lobby; "clever" simultaneous turns end when two players can meet (Unfrozen). Patch #6 added 5 seconds after each stack's turn in combat (Unfrozen); Patch #11 set Classic combat to 90 seconds and Single Hero from 75 seconds in the Placement League down to 60 in Master, 20 fewer on Outcast Tournament and Vendetta. Tournament templates such as Jebus Tournament keep simultaneous turns running without interruption and settle the game in scheduled battles.

Fair play and network fixes

Unfrozen has fought exploits openly. Patch #8 (Jun 1, 2026) made closing the game with Alt+F4 an automatic loss, stopped players peeking at the opponent's tactics setup, and took "disciplinary action" against those who knowingly exploited bugs; its notes warn that exploiting "can result in a temporary or permanent multiplayer ban" (Unfrozen). Network problems were the launch's main technical issue: Patch #3 improved lobby entry and reconnection, Patch #4 fixed a crash in games of 3 or more players, Patch #6 fixed several desyncs and cut the reconnection timeout from 6 to 4 minutes, a hotfix on Aug 27 fixed desyncs after restarts, and v0.81.04 on Oct 2 fixed lobby starts on unstable connections (Patch Notes).

Spectating

0:39 On Sep 19, 2025 Unfrozen premiered Spectator Mode in a video, "for the first time in the history of the Heroes of Might and Magic series": players can join a match and watch others, for tournaments and among friends (Unfrozen). Replays and an observer mode for casting were among the features the competitive community asked for (Unfrozen). The roadmap of May 28, 2026 puts "Observer Mode & Replays" in Stage 2, Q4 2026, to "watch other players' matches or recap the most exciting moments of your own match" (Unfrozen). As of Oct 21, 2026 no patch note says they have shipped.

2:32 The premiere's footage follows a match from outside: the adventure map with each player's territory marked, then a battle watched with its combat log open, in a development build.

The Alvari Cup

4:40 Unfrozen announced its first official tournament on Jul 28, 2026, run with Behemoth's Lair, Ubisoft and Hooded Horse (Unfrozen). The Alvari Cup began on Aug 1, 2026 with 16 invited players in a single-elimination, best-of-three bracket over several weeks, streamed on Twitch and YouTube, with a grand prize "we'll reveal very soon". Unfrozen said community tournaments were already running and that it plans more official ones, "including open format tournaments, where everyone will be able to sign up". As of Oct 21, 2026 Unfrozen's Steam announcements name neither the prize nor the winner.

Frequently asked questions

Does Olden Era have cross-play? The Steam store page for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era lists "Cross-Platform Multiplayer"; Unfrozen has not described cross-play further in its announcements.

Does Olden Era have hotseat? Yes: Olden Era has had a hotseat mode since its Early Access launch on Apr 30, 2026, so several players can take turns on one PC, and the classic map Broken Alliance is playable in hotseat.

Does Olden Era have ranked? Yes: Olden Era has ranked 1v1 matchmaking and a leaderboard for each of Classic, Single Hero and Arena, with leagues from Iron to Master. The ladder was reset on Sep 30, 2026, with everyone starting again at 1000.

How many players can play Olden Era online? Unfrozen has not published a maximum; its patch notes fix games of "3 or more players", and its Sep 30, 2026 screenshots show eight-player lobbies and an Alliance template for eight players in four teams.

Is there co-op in Olden Era? Yes: since Sep 30, 2026 Alliances let friends team up against the AI or against other teams, with simultaneous turns and a shared victory.

Can I spectate Olden Era matches? Unfrozen showed a Spectator Mode on Sep 19, 2025, and its roadmap lists Observer Mode and Replays for Q4 2026; as of Oct 21, 2026 no patch note says they are in the game.

What is the Alvari Cup? The Alvari Cup is Olden Era's first official tournament, run by Unfrozen with Behemoth's Lair, Ubisoft and Hooded Horse from Aug 1, 2026: 16 invited players, single elimination, best of three, streamed on Twitch and YouTube.

Sources

• BETA Patch: Balance Update - New Damage Formula, Smarter AI & New Creatures, Unfrozen, Oct 15, 2026
• Alliances & Updated Random Map Generator, Unfrozen, Sep 30, 2026
• Announcing the first official tournament for Olden Era: The Alvari Cup!, Unfrozen, Jul 28, 2026
• Patch #11: Necromancy Update, UI Tweaks and Balance Changes, Unfrozen, Jul 6, 2026
• Patch #8: Skills Rework, Balance Pass & Exploit Fixes, Unfrozen, Jun 1, 2026
• Building the Future - HoMM: Olden Era's Early Access Roadmap is here!, Unfrozen, May 28, 2026
• Patch #6: Network Stability, Balance Tweaks & Campaign Fixes, Unfrozen, May 13, 2026
• Patch #3: Bug fixes and Network stability improvements, Unfrozen, May 3, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Released!, Unfrozen, Apr 30, 2026
• Call to Arms: Stress-Test!, Unfrozen, Apr 16, 2026
• Call to Arms: Closed Matchmaking Playtest Sign-Up!, Unfrozen, Mar 25, 2026
• Premiere: SPECTATOR MODE in Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era, Unfrozen, Sep 19, 2025
• FAQ: Part 2, Unfrozen, Dec 6, 2024
• Devlog #1: Everything Everywhere All At Once: Game Modes, Unfrozen, Sep 13, 2024
• Designing a Heroes Game, Unfrozen, Aug 29, 2024
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era on Steam, Steam store page, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era - Early Access Overview!, Unfrozen Official, May 1, 2026 (video)
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era | Q3 Roadmap Patch: Introducing Alliances!, Unfrozen Official, Sep 30, 2026 (video)
• Premiere: SPECTATOR MODE in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Unfrozen Official, Sep 19, 2025 (video)
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era | Community Feedback #5: Upcoming PvE Content and Events!, Unfrozen Official, Jul 28, 2026 (video)