The Wizarding and Muggle worlds were equally bewitched by the success of Hogwarts Legacy last year. A seemingly dormant franchise due to years of lacklustre movies and games was resurrected by the courageous passion of first-time AAA developers Avalanche Software.
Indeed, Warner Bros. took a risk in giving Avalanche the reigns to one of its most prized IPs. After all, the developers were mostly known for creating smaller Disney titles, including Cars 2 and 3 as well as Disney Infinity. Yet, this faith was rewarded in an unexpected way.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president David Haddad recently revealed to Variety how the success of Hogwarts Legacy translated into over 22 million copies sold by the end of 2023, with two million of these units selling during the December holiday season. Fun in-game statistics were also shared, highlighting that players racked in a total of 707 million hours played, with 819 million potions brewed, 1.3 billion magical plants harvested, 593 million magical beasts rescued, and 4.9 billion dark wizards defeated.
Importantly, Haddad shared how the Hogwarts Legacy success paves way for the development of future titles in the series. Fans can look forward to the potential creation of a gaming Potterverse. Warner Bros. already announced the development of a Quidditch game, tentatively named Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, nearly nine months ago. However, Haddad revealed that development continues for the title as it is in its beta phase, with no release date in sight.
Nonetheless, Haddad left us with the promise of “a series of other things” that are currently unannounced that “will let the fans be part of this world and stories and characters in deeper and deeper ways.” At this point, we can only wonder and speculate what that means for the future of the franchise.
The world, however, still can’t get enough of Hogwarts Legacy. The game continues to be number 1 in the latest GFK sale charts (via GamesIndustry.biz) for the week ending January 6. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since the game was received well critically on all release platforms as indicated by Metacritic, in no small part due to Avalanche’s careful porting to last-gen consoles, including the PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch.
Smash Jump recently recommended Hogwarts Legacy among the 5 must-play Switch games of 2023, acknowledging the impressive feat pulled off by Avalanche Software in porting the game to the older Switch hardware, while also keeping intact the whimsical nature of Hogwarts. You’ll find us roaming those cozy Hogwarts corridors casting “Revelio!” until more is announced.
More Smash Jump: Check out Daniel’s thoughts on whether a live-action Zelda movie could actually work and get ready to start 2024 in Hawaii as you explore vacation in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on January 26.
