
By October 1997, the combined sales of Heroes of Might and Magic, Heroes II and the Price of Loyalty expansion had surpassed 500,000 copies. The company announced that the game was "set to top the 100,000 mark in unit sales".

In mid-November 1995, New World Computing reported that Heroes of Might and Magic had shipped 100,000 copies to retailers and that sell-through was strong. Reception īest Turn-Based Strategy Game (tied)

Heroes of Might and Magic was first released near the end of September 1995. There is also a neutral, "wandering" class of troops, including Rogues, Nomads, Ghosts (the only one that cannot be hired) and Genies. The two "magic" classes, Sorceress and Warlock, earn skill points in spell power or knowledge more often than in attack or defense. The two "might" classes, Knight and Barbarian, earn skill points in attack or defense more often than in spell power or knowledge. There are four different classes of heroes and castles, each with their own units and strengths/weaknesses. However, the game comes with many different play scenarios, and some of these scenarios have unique victory conditions, such as accumulating a certain amount of gold, or finding a particular artifact. The ultimate goal of the game is usually to capture all enemy castles and defeat all enemy heroes. These generals, called "heroes," provide a means to explore, attack, defeat, and acquire, the four basic principles in the game.

The player leads generals through the game world at the head of armies of troops. These creatures compose the military forces (troops) with which the player attempts to conquer opponents. Heroes of Might and Magic takes place in a medieval fantasy world filled with creatures frequently associated with myth and legend.
