The world of Might and Magic – the world of NWC – is now dead in Heroes 5.

In the game, what matters to me is the gameplay and everything else.

That is, if they remove all creatures, all Castles, and so on, and hero attributes, but make amazing gameplay, you will still play such a Heroes game.
I feel sorry for you.

If the new installment doesn't have Baal and Mephisto (as if they never existed)

But they were always there. Perhaps not tangibly, but always in the plot.

but there will be amazing gameplay and a great cartoon, 90% of people will not pay attention to this and will be right.

Fortunately, not all companies share this opinion. And that inspires optimism.

Comrade Van Caneghem has stepped away from the game. He was offered a position - he rejected it. That's it. The Heroes series is now developing without him.

After that, the series reached a dead end. The world is over. The world of Heroes no longer exists. The circus has left, and the clowns have scattered. Only the scenery remains.