Irrespective of the controversy that surrounded its debut, Hogwarts Legacy has been a huge commercial and critical success with fans of the series calling it ‘the game they have always wanted’. The game has created a huge buzz online around the Wizarding World franchise breaking sales predictions and Twitch audience records. So what’s next for this magical franchise?
In just the first two weeks after its debut on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, “Hogwarts Legacy” moved more than 12 million units, increasing Warner Bros. Games’ sales by $850 million globally, the video game business reported on Thursday.
With 1.28 million peak concurrent viewers at debut, the “Harry Potter” action role-playing game broke the Twitch record for single-player games, making it the biggest global launch in the history of the Warner Bros with any franchise they own.
As a result, it is not surprising that Warner Bros. Games is considering their future with the franchise and has started investigating the notion of expanding the Hogwarts Legacy brand, beginning with Hogwarts Legacy 2.
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In a recent interview with Variety magazine, Warner Bros. Games president David Haddad said, “The player engagement is spectacular. “so far, we have tracked over 152 million hours played, 173 million magical plants grown, 115 million potions brewed and 556 million Dark Wizards defeated.”
After expressing how “pleased” the firm is with the “initial launch” of Hogwarts Legacy, the head of Warner Bros. Games said they “see a bright future for our other platform launches.”
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It has now been rumoured further that a sequel is in development after a tweet from the account ‘MyTimeToShineHello’ who regularly gives updates on film, television and gaming posted the following tweets claiming one of their sources says the game is in development.
Sources confirmed that a Hogwarts Legacy sequel is in the works pic.twitter.com/LQEKFmUpO9
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) September 2, 2023
With sales records being broken around the world and the comments from WB executives, surely it’s only a matter of time before Hogwarts Legacy 2 is officially announced? Are WB hoping to make other games with the franchises they own? Can we expect spin off games in the future for the Wizarding World?
The release of the game and its success has created a contentious discussion among “Harry Potter” fans, who have grown increasingly upset by author J.K. Rowling’s continued public expression of opinions surrounding the issues of transgender peolpe. Rowling is said to have not contributed creatively to the game, but does profit from its sales, raising the question of whether playing it constitutes support for anti-trans ideas or whether people should be able to enjoy the game and separate the art from the artist.
Whichever side of the debate you fall it’s clear that the Wizarding World brand is still something that captures the interest, excitement and imagination of fans all across the globe and that this is simply the beginning of an expansive franchise!
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Featured Image Credit: Hogwarts Legacy, Warner Brothers
