Outside of video game adaptations of the movies and a couple mobile games, Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts have not had a huge presence in the video game industry. The Wizarding World is one of the biggest franchises around, but it has yet to make a big mark on gaming. There have been some popular titles like LEGO Harry Potter and Quidditch World Cup, but the majority of them never captured the hearts of the fanbase. Avalanche Software's Hogwarts Legacy hopes to change all that, and it may be just what Harry Potter fans have wanted for years.
Hogwarts Legacy will be the first standalone RPG title set within the Harry Potter universe. Most of the games that came before retold Harry's story, but Hogwarts Legacy puts the player at the center of their own magical story and showcases events that have not been covered in the greater series. It is unknown if it will be canon to the rest of the series, but it is blazing a new trail for the franchise that has not been seen before. This should not stop with Hogwarts Legacy; it should mark the beginning of a brand-new era of Harry Potter video games outside the film series.
Hogwarts Legacy is a New Type of Wizarding World Video Game
Avalanche Software is hoping to deliver the Harry Potter game that fans have been dreaming about for years. Instead of putting Newt Scamander or Harry Potter at the center of this story, Hogwarts Legacy will be putting the player at the center. They will be able to create their own personal character and head off to Hogwarts during the late 1800s. There they will attend class, battle the dark arts, and explore the magical world that J.K. Rowling created.
While the game's quality has yet to be seen, right now it is heavily anticipated by Harry Potter fans. This will mark the first time that a Harry Potter video game has chosen to go down this route. Players will finally be able to tell their own Harry Potter story, and it has the possibility to be one of the best action RPGs in a while.
The Need for More Harry Potter Games
Hogwarts Legacy should not be the only Harry Potter game to explore uncharted territory, instead it should be the start of a long line of brand-new Wizarding World experiences. Harry Potter has always seemed to struggle in the video game landscape, but Hogwarts Legacy is set to change all that, If it is good then that should push Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Portkey Games to work even harder on delivering more magical adventures. That does not mean churning out more mobile games, but focusing on brand-new full-fledged experiences set in the world of Harry Potter.
There are so many time periods that Harry Potter games could explore outside the original story. Hogwarts Legacy is taking the series to the late 1800s, while Fantastic Beasts explored 1926 to 1937 and Harry Potter explored the 1990s. That leaves a plethora of different years that the video game industry could fill with Harry Potter characters. Maybe a game can tell a tale during the gap between the two series, explore Dumbledore's early days, or flesh out the post-Harry Potter world.
Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts have been enthralling audiences with its fantastical characters for years now, but it has yet to make a huge mark on the video game industry. With the release of Hogwarts Legacy, now is the time for Warner Bros. to rectify that. The world of Harry Potter deserves to be explored in as many mediums as possible, and video games are one of the best ways to showcase the expansive world. It would not only be a treat for Harry Potter fans, but it would also be a great way to pull in even more people to this magical world.
Hogwarts Legacy will release on February 10, 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Nintendo Switch release date has yet to be revealed.
