Heroes VII. - Development cancelled

[{CH}ArticleBot]

Old proverb say that "all good things come to an end". I would add that unfinished as well. Today Ubisoft offically announced, that hotfix 2.2.1 released yesterday was the last one and farewell.

Long suffering is gone, this was, let to say, expected outcome.

We may certainly speculate, what, where and why that happened. But let admit that for more than a half year Ubisoft communication with a fans was sporadic at best. Only the die hard fans from Limbic, like Hero or Oakwarrior, and of course omni-presented deity Ubi-Moshi were here.

The future is in the mods and modders, which could do, especially with help of ex-developers, a miracles.

To memorize a bit. Twitch Show for Trial by Fire was cancelled. Team Erwin disbanded. Contract with Limbic wasn't prolonged. Mobile heroes game go to the China. Other M&M Titles are either already out of support period or with planned EOL like Duel of Champions.
And, not in the beginning but noticeably important, the launch of Heroes VII. was a disaster. Remember the dummy MM:H7 boxes in the shops? They are still here, in hope that shops will sell the game as they always did with M&M franchise. Steadily slow but for a long time. Never happened.

It was an interesting story, which now comes to an end.

I would like to thanks to Limbic and Ubisoft for their heroic effort (Ubisoft managers excluded). Now we need to shape a better future. Which always begin with vision and thorough thinking.

The topic with latest bugfix remains open here. To summ up a current game status, and help to decide for everyone interested in getting the game or playing it again.

For others there are many Heroes 3 mods, Heroes 4 Equilibris or Heroes 5.5 by Magnomagus.

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[Panda Tar]

Well, that simply shows that you cannot disguise **** by covering it in flowery and glittering satin. It'll end up smelling and it'll squash and leak on your shoe if you step on it. It also shows how misguided their impression of the game was supposed to be. Frankly, barely 1 year old and already dead ...

[Erwinner]

well, I respectfully disagree a bit with the OP,
**** all the so-called professionals responsible for the irrevocable destruction of "Might and Magic Heroes", and indeed the franchise as a whole, you deserve no respect IMO and you all know who you are

the deed is done, Might and Magic is officially dead, I just hope the pillagery and rape of the brand doesn't spell the demise of this esteemed site in turn,
sadly I suspect it may, but hope dies last I guess, and I am withholding my customary lol for this post as a mark of solemn sincerity

[Panda Tar]

As you usually do, Verriker.

Let's see if hope shines somewhere if they decide leaving the ball to another one's hands.

[Troller]

Rest in peace my dear old friend :'-(

Part of me wishes that the franchise will rise like the phoenix from the ashes that was Ashan into a new and exciting world, the other part is "just let it die already!"

[Karmakeld]

and we are looking forward to seeing you again in Ashan!

Well I have to admit I belong with those who believe the franchise need new owners if it's to survive in the future. The list of mods and the facts that they're still played and developed, is what gives me hope that the franchise can and will survive, but it relies on a decent release, and not a continuation of the last two releases. With the quote, I can't help but fear UBI holds on to the franchise, instead of selling it. Then I fear they'll either doom it with an even worse release or simply just put it to rest.

[cjlee]

I'm not surprised at this announcement. Ubisoft was all but disinterested in anything apart from money. They've run this practically as a scam to maximize income from preorders.

No problem really; Ubisoft is too greedy to not do anything with the franchise. They will almost certainly sell it for cash, or else produce another HVIII and try to get people to preorder.

[Erwinner]

No problem really; Ubisoft is too greedy to not do anything with the franchise. They will almost certainly sell it for cash, or else produce another HVIII and try to get people to preorder.

let's stay realistic, neither thing will happen lol
they are indeed too greedy, too greedy to see any profit in spending another microsecond on it now, it merely joins Anno, The Settlers, Warlords etc in the Ubisoft PC catacombs where its yucky, stinking corpse will putrefy lol

if you want to hope for anything, hope for the Vivendi takeover to succeed, that holds the last, vague, remote atom of a glimmer of a chance of a rebirth for Heroes, though again in reality it's simply not coming back, game over lol

[Angelspit]

Honestly I'll be surprised if Ubisoft wanted to give it another try considering the current state of the industry, and their past record. I'd also be surprised if another publisher felt like reviving the franchise, even if it's worth a fraction of what Ubisoft paid for it.

Maybe at this point "Might and Magic" is just a nostalgia-inducing name and we'd be better off with a brand new fantasy strategy game. One that doesn't come with such high expectations. I sometimes felt that the various Heroes developers were like those cover bands that try really hard to recreate a classic, but never sound the same. In our eyes the flaws often overshadowed the good points, and that's not ever going to change.

It's so sad to be back into a state of uncertainty, in a situation that's similar to the post-bankruptcy era of 3DO.

[hellegennes]

That is exactly what they mean when they talk about the proverbial nail in the coffin. Ubisoft hesitated to spend money on the franchise, partly because the turn-based strategy is a niche market* and partly because it's run by an army of managers that believe success comes first, then you spend more money. Since the previous releases weren't as profitable, these managers didn't really think that the M&M brand has the potential for great success, so they were reluctant to throw money in. Of course, that's bollocks. You need to invest first, you cannot wait for success if you are not willing to invest time and money.

By allocating a tiny budget for H7, Ubisoft wasted the good will and effort of their developer, Limbic, which did a very good job on MMX, with the given budget.


* Of course, Civ5 still managed to sell 8 million copies.

[cjlee]

I very much doubt there is such a thing as a 'niche market'. It is all about how you develop the market.

In 1970s there was no market at all for Space Operas.

In 2015 Star Wars franchise is the most lucrative media franchise in history. They have generated more money over the past 30 years, than most of the 202 members of the UN generate for their national GDP per year.

As you said yourself, civ5 had 8 million sales. Why? Because it's good.

You want HOMM to get at least a million sales, it gotta be good. The market for barely functioning, poorly made things is a niche market in all countries and economies.

Ubisoft is the bunch of fools who think that spending pennies over a short period of time gets you millions. Not surprising that it didn't work.

[Ryder]

Katauri to the rescue.

Hopefully.

[Romanov77]

Good riddance.

Now we just need to get rid of Ubisoft and then get rid of Ashan.

[theGryphon]

Well, unfortunately Ubisoft owns the game and they can do whatever they want with it. In the worst case scenario, they'll put it in their pile of dead games and let it rot for a decade or two. All we can hope now is for a game studio who will do justice to the franchise to offer a price on it that will water Ubisoft's mouth. But even that will likely not happen in the next 2-3 years, as any studio would like people to forget the disaster the title has become under Ubisoft... I'd say don't expect a new installation for another 5 years...

[Romanov77]

Give me a Heroes 4 Equilibris HD modded with enhanced AI and I can wait that time.

[Danny]

Honestly I'll be surprised if Ubisoft wanted to give it another try considering the current state of the industry, and their past record. I'd also be surprised if another publisher felt like reviving the franchise, even if it's worth a fraction of what Ubisoft paid for it.

Maybe at this point "Might and Magic" is just a nostalgia-inducing name and we'd be better off with a brand new fantasy strategy game. One that doesn't come with such high expectations. I sometimes felt that the various Heroes developers were like those cover bands that try really hard to recreate a classic, but never sound the same. In our eyes the flaws often overshadowed the good points, and that's not ever going to change.

It's so sad to be back into a state of uncertainty, in a situation that's similar to the post-bankruptcy era of 3DO.

Agreed, it's doubtful they are gonna try to do another retread of the same units and factions. I also don't see them "admitting defeat" and abandon Ashan so best bet is a revival by another company in several years from now if they sell the rights.

[Humakt]

Pity. It was shaping up to be very good....

[sv398]

Somehow "I told them so" doesn't even cover it for HoMM 7.

FFS Ubisoft should sell the license to someone that cares so we can get something playable for a change!

[BB Shockwave]

Well, time to break out the champagne!
I think it speaks MILES about how terrible the game is that they are selling it for 20 EURs now (while XCOM2, released around the same time, is still at 60 EUR) and even so they cannot sell it.
And to cancel the support right after the expansion is released? Wow.

[BB Shockwave]

Good riddance.

Now we just need to get rid of Ubisoft and then get rid of Ashan.

Amen! Bring back Enroth and Erathia. Let's pretend Heroes 4 never happened, either. I have no issues with the gameplay, but I hated that they destroyed decades worth of lore in one game and killed important characters off.