A little over two weeks after its official release, Hogwarts Legacy can comfortably claim its spot among the most successful games of the year. And people in positions of power over at Warner Bros. Games are taking notice and acting accordingly.
The hype for the open-world Harry Potter RPG has been hard to ignore, with the title shattering records left and right. The developers have already come out to state that they aren't working on a DLC or a second expansion to Hogwarts Legacy just yet.
But that doesn't mean it's not in their plans, despite the title being just a few weeks old. President of Warner Bros. Games, David Haddad, recently sat down with Variety to talk about the studio’s direction moving forward and the recent success they have been enjoying.
The player engagement is spectacular. [As of 16 February], players have put 267 million hours into the game, and have grown 393 million magical plants, brewed 242 million potions, and defeated 1.25 billion Dark Wizards.
More importantly, Haddad confirmed that Hogwarts Legacy is being viewed as a “long-term franchise” in the eyes of the developer saying, “We are very pleased with the initial launch and see a bright future for our other platform launches.” With fans throwing praise left and right for the creation of the “definitive Harry Potter experience”, not having sequels and spin-offs following it up would be a head-scratching move for all parties involved.
The success of the title has also inspired the company to extend its gaming repertoire by sourcing more and more of its original content, which Warner Bros have in abundance. With over 300 000 people preordering the game on Valve’s Steam platform in order to gain early access, it's clear that there will always be a market for games with such a massive backing.
The title shattered Twitch viewership records hours after its release, and has peaked in concurrent players multiple times since.
The numbers also back the claims, as the new Harry Potter game has dwarfed first-week numbers posted by 2022’s Game of the Year, Elden Ring. Sony is also getting in on the hype train, releasing a limited edition Hogwarts Legacy DualSense controller.
So far, Hogwarts Legacy is only available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PCs. PS4 and Xbox One users will have to wait until 4 April to get their hands on the Wizarding World RPG, while the Nintendo Switch will receive its port on 25 July.
