Highlights

  • Hogwarts Legacy succeeds sales expectations, offering an immersive Harry Potter experience in an original wizarding world adventure.
  • A sequel seems inevitable, with potential to delve deeper into Hogwarts history rather than relying on controversial narratives like The Cursed Child.
  • Avalanche Software must continue the game's success by avoiding risks like focusing too closely on divisive aspects of the Harry Potter lore.

Hogwarts Legacy being a sales success was a surprise to few, but the volume of units shifted was something that not a lot of people likely expected. It was the highest-selling game of 2023, with players all over the world enjoying all Hogwarts, and its surrounding areas, had to offer. It's a game that borrows a lot from other open-world titles and doesn't do much to stand out from the AAA crowd, but it's by far the best game in the Harry Potter IP to date, and a monumental achievement for a developer that is still proving its worth with big-budget offerings.

A follow-up seems like a formality, and as DLC hasn't been confirmed, it's looking more and more likely that said new release will be a full-scale sequel. Hogwarts Legacy deserves it, not just because it's a good game, but also because it needs a chance to show that it can build upon, and further develop the ideas it has to make sure that it's a worthwhile experience for casual gamers as well as fans of the Harry Potter license. There are plenty of ways Avalanche Software can do this, but one risk it might not want to take is to focus on one particular point of the wizarding world's future.

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The Cursed Child is The Harry Potter Franchise's Black Sheep

The core series of books is wonderfully adapted with eight films that tell a wonderful tale of Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They're accessible to all audiences, but while the shift to screen was done with grace, extending the property's reach to the stage was met with more hesitation. The Cursed Child was a new chapter in the franchise, taking place 19 years after the events of The Deathly Hallows.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently running at the Lyric Theatre in New York City, and at the Palace Theatre in London's West End.

It shows Harry and the rest of the characters when they've aged. It's an interesting idea, but one that was criticized as much as it was praised, with questionable narrative decisions and a fan-fiction-ish approach to the story. To hinge Hogwarts Legacy 2's story on it would put it on unsure foundations as it is something that plenty of fans don't find enjoyment from, and a lot of non-Harry Potter fans haven't seen. It reshapes Harry Potter's lore too much, and the consistent world-building is something that Hogwarts Legacy does best.

Hogwarts' History is Too Good to Ignore

The Harry Potter timeline is vast and littered with interesting people, places, and world-building. Hogwarts Legacy made the conscious decision to dip into a fraction of that lore, and in doing so it not only distanced itself from Harry's exploits to ensure it doesn't conflict with any plot points, but also was able to forge a legacy all its own. That otherwise blurry period of history is now a little clearer, and the heritage of Hogwarts School means there's always more to uncover. A sequel would do well to make headway on this instead of aligning itself with anything too Harry Potter-centric.

Dipping into the school during Tom Riddle's time as a student, or going as far back as the founders of the castle would be a better, more sensible course of action than trying to coincide with, or even rehabilitate, The Cursed Child. It would take advantage of the franchise's sense of history, adding more depth to its lore, while also not tampering with anything that fans already have a strong opinion about.

Hogwarts Legacy Needs to Keep Winning

Avalanche Software has struck gold with its brave use of the Harry Potter license. Strong sales and high praise have meant that it has entered the pantheon of the most anticipated series in the gaming industry, so caution is the best course of action to ensure Hogwarts Legacy's future remains bright. Setting the sequel too close to The Cursed Child seems like a risk that's not worth it, especially as the developer has found a winning formula that has endless room for more stories and ideas.