The first
Might and Magic game,
Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum, was programmed by Jon Van Caneghem for over a three-year period ending in 1986. Released for the Apple II on June 1, 1986, with
ports for the
Commodore 64,
classic Mac OS, and
MS-DOS following a year later, The third installment,
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra was released in 1991 and was the first game in the series designed specifically for MS-DOS-based computers, although ports were released for a variety of other systems, including the
classic Mac OS,
Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the
Sega Mega Drive.
Might and Magic III featured an entirely redesigned
game engine and
8-bit (256) color VGA graphics. The
Might and Magic III engine was reused for the next two installments of the series,
Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen and
Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen, released in 1992 and 1993, respectively. When installed together, the two games became a single, omnibus-style title called
World of Xeen. In 1994, New World released an enhanced
CD-ROM version of
World of Xeen featuring
Red Book CD audio and spoken dialog. The
Might and Magic III engine was used one final time for
Swords of Xeen, a continuation of
World of Xeen produced by
Catware under permission from New World Computing. Although it was never released as a standalone title,
Swords of Xeen was included in numerous
Might and Magic series compilations released by New World Computing and, later, the 3DO Company. After a
pause of five years (during which time the
Heroes of Might and Magic spin-off franchise was launched) New World returned to the Might and Magic series with
Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, its first game to use
3D graphics, and the first to be released for
Microsoft Windows. In late 2001,
Might and Magic VIII was released for the
PlayStation 2 video game console in the
Japanese market only, courtesy of developer Imagineer. Also in 2001, New World and 3DO released
Legends of Might and Magic, a spin-off of the
Might and Magic series. Originally conceived as an
online multiplayer action role-playing game (and announced as such when it was unveiled at
E3 in 2000), by the time of the game's release the following year it had evolved into a more traditional
first-person shooter. The next
Might and Magic game was released in 2002 as
Might and Magic IX for Windows. Abandoning the now-dated
Might and Magic VI engine in favor of the
LithTech engine (also used in
Legends of Might and Magic),
Might and Magic IX was the first game in the series to be rendered entirely in 3D. Unfortunately, the release of the game was rushed, and the finished product was received poorly by critics, who noted the numerous
software bugs remaining in the final release, most of which were not fully resolved by the sole
patch released before New World Computing's dissolution. The most current game, released by Ubisoft in 2014, is Might and Magic X. Before its bankruptcy, the 3DO Company produced two further spin-offs of the
Might and Magic series:
Crusaders of Might and Magic and
Warriors of Might and Magic. Neither of these games was developed by New World Computing, however. Similarly, a number of
Might and Magic spin-off titles have been produced since the dissolution of New World Computing by
Ubisoft and its associates. New World Computing was not involved in the production of any of these (including
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic).
Heroes of Might and Magic In 1990, New World Computing released ''
King's Bounty, a turn-based tactical role-playing game, for the Apple II, MS-DOS, Mac, Commodore 64, and Amiga. The game, designed by New World co-founder Jon Van Caneghem, was subsequently modified to include real-time elements and ported to the Sega Mega Drive video game console. Four years later, New World would revisit the basic mechanics of the home-computer versions of King's Bounty
with Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest'', released for
MS-DOS. In 1996, an
enhanced version of the game was released for
Windows 95. Following the success of the first
Heroes game, New World released
Heroes of Might and Magic II for
Windows 95 and the
classic Mac OS. An
expansion pack, entitled
The Price of Loyalty, was designed by
Cyberlore Studios and released by New World Computing in 1997 for Windows 95 only. The combined game and its expansion were subsequently re-released together as
Heroes of Might and Magic II Gold. In 1999,
Heroes of Might and Magic III was released for Windows and the classic Mac OS. The Windows release was quickly followed by the ''
Armageddon's Blade expansion pack later that year and The Shadow of Death expansion pack in early 2000. Neither of the two expansion packs were released separately for Mac OS, although an omnibus release, entitled Heroes of Might and Magic III Complete
was released for both Windows and Mac OS shortly thereafter. Loki Software produced a Linux port of the original Heroes III'' in 2000, but neither of the two expansions were made available. From 2000 to 2001, New World Computing used a limited version of the
Heroes of Might and Magic III game engine in a series of eight
episodic titles released under the
Heroes Chronicles umbrella. Two of these games (
The World Tree and
The Fiery Moon) were only available for online download to consumers who purchased other installments of the series. In 2001, an
enhanced remake of the original ''King's Bounty
was released for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game was marketed as part of the Heroes
franchise and released under the title Heroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragon Bone Staff''.
Heroes of Might and Magic IV was released for Windows in 2002 alongside
Might and Magic IX, and featured a major overhaul of the series' gameplay. Like the previous
Heroes game, two expansion packs were released:
The Gathering Storm in late 2002, and
The Winds of War in 2003.
Winds of War was the last title to be developed by New World Computing prior to its dissolution following the bankruptcy of 3DO. Subsequent games in the
Heroes of Might and Magic series were developed by
Nival Interactive and released by
Ubisoft. In addition, the rights to the ''King's Bounty
name were purchased in 2007 by Russian publisher 1C Company, who released King's Bounty: The Legend'' the following year (developed by
Katauri Interactive). == Other games ==