In Might and Magic VI, the player takes control of four adventurers and, starting with the lowest attributes, guides them to be mighty heroes to save the fictional land of Enroth.

The player is allowed full roam over the terrain, as opposed to the grid-based maps of the previous titles, allowing scalable mountains and fully explorable maps. Battles can be conducted either in real time or in a turn-based mode, where the player can take time determining what enemies to attack or what spells to cast. However, the player's movement is severely limited in turn-based mode.

As in the rest of the series, all action is shown through the eyes of the party, in first person view, but the new engine allows full 360 degree turning as well as looking up and down.

For gameplay and storyline reasons, along with the fact that it is based on a new platform, Might and Magic VI includes no character transfer system between its prequels or sequels, unlike earlier installments. Apart from the main quest line, there are a number of side and promotion quests. Although they are not abundant, most are detailed in setup and planning. Because the game operates under a calendar schedule with a day and night system, the time of year affects the availability of several scheduled events, such as shop opening times, the Solstices and the presence of the Circus of the Sun.