: For the first time, players would lead their evil forces to lay siege to the surface world of the heroes. This was teased in a trailer included with Dungeon Keeper 2 , showing the series' mascot, Horny, rising to the surface.

: A third race known as "The Elders" was planned, which reportedly drew inspiration from the "Night Elf" vibe seen in early Warcraft 3 trailers.

: Developers aimed to move away from simply mining gold, hoping to introduce an economy similar to Age of Empires where players would exploit peasant farmers for resources.

: The team planned to introduce powerful hero-side creatures that would serve as functional equivalents to the iconic Horned Reaper . Spiritual Successors