Here it is.
Might & Magic: Heroes Online Q&A
March, 2013.
I sent over some quick questions to Blue Byte, the developers Heroes Online. If you're not sure what that is, let me tell you: a small, free-to-play browser game designed to give a proper Heroes feel. You can read more in our Heroes Online preview and on the official page.
You can also have a look at this video interview from Electronic Theatre, with Creative Supervisor Doru Apreotesei.
Our first question was when the game will be released. Sadly, it's too soon to say, but the devs are working on a plan for the language versions to get this cleared up in a few days. You can still sign up for the beta, though.
CH: Can you tell us more about the factions? So far there' only Haven and Necro. Which ones will you do next?
Answer: "I'm not going to commit 100% to which faction is next, but... I guess you're all mighty curious to learn what Inferno is doing in Ashan, aren't you?" 
CH: Will the creatures and that kind of stuff be the same within the factions as they are in H6?
Answer: "As for the creatures - it's a bit on a case-by-case basis, but generally speaking we're allowing ourselves to not only use H6 creatures for the factions."
CH: How many people are working on the game?
Answer: "More than 50 people are working on the game."
CH: Are there any other online games out there that you have looked at and gained experience from? If so, what things have you learned from seeing how other games have handled things?
Answer: "The team working on MMHO are fans of both Might & Magic: Heroes and of MMOs in general. While we haven’t used any specific game as inspiration – Might and Magic: Heroes being such a unique and iconic experience – it’s been very helpful to have played other online games in order to solve specific challenges that arise whenever a classic formula has to be available to many players at the same time."
CH: Please describe a playsession. How much time can you spend playing and how far can you play in the game?
Answer: "This is largely still to be determined, but the idea is to let players pace themselves as much as possible, and customize their play style to fit their interests and schedules. Skilled players will be able to get farther in shorter amounts of time. As for describing a play session, we hope that there will never be a typical one."
CH: What would it take for you to classify HO as a success?
Answer: "From a Creative/Design point of view, I want people who know and understand Heroes to agree that we’ve gotten as close as possible to opening up the experience to multiple players in a persistent world. That’s the whole point of the project, and if we pull it off, it will hopefully stand as a unique entry in the MMO/Browser space with a lot of staying power. In the process, we will also learn loads of new things about the Heroes formula and what our fans want from the game(s), and this can only be a good thing as we proceed to develop the franchise."
Apparently, Ubi are adjusting their communications policy in an aim to lower the threshold of fan communications; in this case it meant we could do a quick 'draw-'n-shoot' Q&A and my questions were answered rather quickly. Thanks to the devs for taking the time.
