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Hogwarts Legacy is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label. It is part of the Wizarding World franchise, taking place a century before the Harry Potter novels. Players control a student enrolled at the magical Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who attends classes, learns spells, and explores an open world version of Hogwarts and its surroundings. With the assistance of fellow students and professors, the protagonist embarks on a journey to uncover an ancient secret hidden within the wizarding world.
Following Warner Bros.' acquisition of Avalanche Software in 2017, Hogwarts Legacy became the studio's first project unrelated to Disney Interactive Studios since 2005. Development began around 2018 and cost an estimated $150 million to produce. The storyline was designed to take place in a period untouched by established Wizarding World characters, offering players the opportunity to immerse themselves in their own distinct universe. Avalanche emphasised the importance of having the game resemble the Harry Potter novels, while also expanding beyond known locations to enrich the experience.
Hogwarts Legacy was highly anticipated. It attracted controversy over Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling's views on transgender people and accusations of antisemitic tropes, leading to calls for a boycott. The Early access period of Hogwarts Legacy resulted in record-breaking viewership on streaming platform Twitch, making it the most-watched single-player game on the platform. Following some delays, it was released on 10 February 2023 for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, on 5 May 2023 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on 14 November 2023 for Nintendo Switch. A Nintendo Switch 2 version was released on 5 June 2025.
Hogwarts Legacy received praise for its combat, world design, characters, variety of content, and faithfulness to the source material, but criticism for its technical problems and lack of innovation as an open world game. In its first two weeks, it sold over 12 million copies and generated $850 million in global sales revenue. It became one of the best-selling video games, selling 34 million copies and reaching $1 billion in total revenue. Hogwarts Legacy appeared on several publications' year-end lists and received accolades including nominations at the BAFTA Games Awards, D.I.C.E. Awards, and Grammy Awards.
Players encounter various characters, with the most relevant being their professors and fellow students. Professor Eleazar Fig, a wizard who teaches magic theory at Hogwarts, is a central ally throughout the protagonist's adventure. Other characters include Hogwarts students Amit Thakkar (Asif Ali) and Everett Clopton (Luke Youngblood), Professors Onai (Kandace Caine) and Shah (Sohm Kapila), as well as Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black (Simon Pegg) and Professor Matilda Weasley (Lesley Nicol). The protagonist also partners with students Natsai Onai, Poppy Sweeting, Sebastian Sallow and Ominis Gaunt, who take part in their journey as companion characters. Antagonists include Ranrok, the leader of a goblin rebellion, and Victor Rookwood, the leader of a group of Dark Wizards.
To reveal the secrets of ancient magic, the protagonist completes four trials left by the Keepers. The trials feature complicated puzzles and dangerous tasks that require the skills the protagonist has acquired. Each trial leads to a Pensieve, a magical device used to store and review memories. The protagonist learns from the memories in the Pensieves about Isidora Morganach, a Hogwarts student who became a professor with abilities similar to the protagonist. Isidora was in conflict with the Keepers and left behind a hidden repository of ancient magic after using it to extract negative emotions, particularly from her suffering father. The Keepers realised that Isidora was inhaling the extracted emotions to increase her own power and failed to dissuade her, forcing one of them to eliminate her with the Avada kedavra. Through their other adventures, the protagonist also learns that Ranrok, the leader of an ongoing goblin rebellion against wizards, seeks to find the repository and exploit it for his own ends. He collaborates with a group of dark wizards led by Victor Rookwood, a descendant of one of the Keepers, to locate it.
After the protagonist completes all four trials, they receive one final task from the Keepers: to create a special type of magic wand from the artefacts found at the Pensieves. Fig sends the protagonist to Gerbold Ollivander, the wandmaker, to craft the special wand. As the protagonist leaves Ollivander's, they are ambushed by Rookwood, who proposes an alliance against the goblins. The protagonist refuses, resulting in a battle in which the protagonist manages to defeat him.The protagonist and Professor Fig find the repository intact, and the protagonist makes their choice between keeping the ancient magic sealed away or absorbing the power for themselves. Ranrok then locates Isidora's repository, absorbs the ancient power, and transforms himself into a dragon. Fig is mortally wounded, and the protagonist battles the dragon. The protagonist defeats Ranrok, which ends the goblin rebellion, and they proceed with the choice they made of what to do with the magic. Regardless of their choice, Fig dies, and Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black and Weasley hold a eulogy in honour of him.
The protagonist returns to finish regular school studies and prepare for the O.W.L. exams at the end of the year. They also continue to explore the castle's surrounding areas and go through adventures with companions Sebastian Sallow, Ominis Gaunt, Poppy Sweeting, and Natsai Onai if they have not completed them already. The journey ends with Weasley awarding the protagonist 100 house points for the extraordinary adventure, which ultimately leads to a win of the House Cup for their respective house.
Lead writer Moira Squier stated that the story was intentionally set in a time period without established Wizarding World characters, allowing players to explore their own unique world within a setting reminiscent of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts eras. The writing team focused on creating a diverse range of characters that players could relate to and see themselves in. While main Harry Potter characters do not appear, some familiar figures like Nearly Headless Nick and Peeves the Poltergeist make appearances. The team also introduced a trans-inclusive character creator and the franchise's first transgender character, Sirona Ryan.
Boston Madsen, environmental lead for the creation of Hogwarts, emphasised the importance of creating environmental elements close to the source material from the Harry Potter books. Madsen noted that although it is Avalanche Software's version of Hogwarts, the castle remains easily recognisable. Game director Alan Tew added that they aimed to go beyond the expected areas, encouraging players to discover new locations and hidden chambers. Tew and Madsen further explained that each of the four Hogwarts house common rooms was designed to offer a unique experience, enhanced by distinct music for each house. Their overall goal was to create a welcoming atmosphere that fosters a sense of nostalgia and belonging.
Lead designer Troy Leavitt stated that the studio had the flexibility to select the elements that fans were most enthusiastic about. He added that Hogwarts Legacy was designed to give fans the "wizarding world experience" they always desired while reading the books or watching the movies, without promoting any particular agenda or message. Game designer Troy Johnson explained that advances in modern technology and gaming consoles made it possible to create a competent game based on the Wizarding World. The open world was designed with two primary goals: to offer players overall freedom and to provide opportunities for crafting a highly personalised experience. Artists Jeff Bunker and Vanessa Palmer noted that they focused on five technical pillars: 4K graphics and visuals, 3D audio, activities and game assistance, the DualShock, and fast loading times. They referenced the use of Unreal Engine, the computing and rendering power of the PlayStation 5, and the Niagara visual effects system to deliver the visual effects of spells and magic.
In December 2022, the soundtrack's release was announced for February 2023. It was released as two digital Double Album totaling 75 tracks: Hogwarts Legacy (Original Video Game Soundtrack) and Hogwarts Legacy (Study Themes from the Original Video Game Soundtrack). The soundtrack also saw a vinyl release, mastered by James Plotkin and distributed by Mondo. On 25 June 2023, the Hollywood Bowl hosted a concert in celebration of the ten-year anniversary of The Game Awards. The event featured a range of video game music from recent years, including Hogwarts Legacy, and was performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The concert was presented in partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conducted by composer Lorne Balfe.
After the first gameplay trailer debuted in March 2022, Hogwarts Legacy drew criticism for setting its story during the Goblin Rebellion era of Wizarding World history and having the protagonist assigned to suppress a goblin uprising. Goblins in the Wizarding World have previously been criticised as based on antisemitic tropes. Critics argued that the game suggests that goblins, as a minority, are the villains for fighting against their oppressors and seeking equal rights and freedom. Some defended the portrayal of goblins in the game and the wider Harry Potter universe. In a statement, the non-governmental organisation Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote that Harry Potter
Hogwarts Legacy became a subject of contention in response to Rowling's controversial views on transgender people. Her critics called for a boycott to show solidarity with the transgender community and to impede the financial benefits she would receive from its release. Others felt that Hogwarts Legacy could be separated from Rowling's views. Writing for GameSpot, transgender YouTuber Jessie Earl stated that those on each side of the debate should come to their own conclusions and that, while it was not wrong to want to play Hogwarts Legacy, those who did should not claim to support the trans community. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's President, David Haddad, said that Rowling has the right to hold her views. Shortly before the release of Hogwarts Legacy, a website was created with the purpose of identifying Twitch streamers who played the game. It was taken down shortly after the creator faced criticism. Some decided not to stream the game, with Polygon noting that this occurred either in favour of ongoing protests or for fear of harassment. The game's viewership on Twitch peaked at a record-breaking 1.28 million concurrent viewers on 7 February. The boycott was declared unsuccessful by several publications. Den of Geek and PC Games stated that the issues with Rowling seemed to have had minimal effect on sales. Michael Deacon of The Telegraph noted that the boycott had had the opposite effect and failed to garner the attention of non-activists, and Fox News said the game had beaten cancel culture.
Shortly after release, game director Alan Tew stated that the team focused only on the launch and did not yet plan to release additional content. In May 2024, Avalanche Studios announced a major update for 6 June, which added player-requested features like a photo mode, talent point resets, and new cosmetic items. The update also released pre-order and console-exclusive content, including the "Haunted Hogsmeade Shop" quest. In January 2025, mod support was added via the Hogwarts Legacy Creator Kit. The support was initially limited to PC. In March 2025, Bloomberg News's Jason Schreier reported that Warner Bros. cancelled an unannounced story expansion that had been planned for release later in the year, alongside a Definitive Edition containing all previously released content. According to Schreier, the cancellation was in part because the company felt that the content was not substantial enough to justify the anticipated price.
Many critics praised the environments and visuals, including the recreation of Hogwarts Castle. GamesRadar+ complimented the world as being faithful to existing Wizarding World lore, while Destructoid appreciated the overall presentation and positive synergy with the universe. Other reviewers echoed these points, with NME writing that the world was probably the most fitting depiction for fans. Further praise was directed at the castle's level of detail. Push Square highlighted the level of atmosphere and visual presentation, finding it made aimless activities like walking around Hogwarts enjoyable. The surrounding areas set in the Scottish Highlands received similar praise.
The gameplay received mixed reactions. PC Gamer praised the straightforward yet cohesive systems, such as the wizard duels and the personalised Room of Requirement. Eurogamer said the attention to detail motivated players to explore the world. They highlighted the music and were impressed by the design of some of the quests and puzzles. Destructoid complimented the range of activities and unlockables but found the game sometimes unimpressive, contributing to a less than satisfactory open world environment. NME similarly wrote that the design felt dated, which they attributed to its long development cycle. The Guardian criticised the experience as competent yet not particularly impressive. While praising the presentation for its captivating nature, they felt that the progression was derivative of other open-world examples. GameRevolution described Hogwarts Legacy as a fun but forgettable Harry Potter fan service. They wrote that features such as attending classes and creating potions lacked sufficient depth.
The combat was generally praised. PCGamesN called it the strongest aspect. The A.V. Club deemed it the most interesting feature and expressed that confrontations with greater difficulty provided genuinely thrilling experiences. GameSpot described the combat and spells as giving a notable feeling of control to players, though they criticised the spell-selecting controls and the unremarkable enemy design. Game Informer similarly lamented the enemies for lacking variety.
The narrative divided critics. Some praised the developer's handling of the narrative to tell an original story in a setting that felt overly familiar. Windows Central deemed the story compelling. Video Games Chronicle positively highlighted the writing of the more detailed side quests as some of the best of the series. Hardcore Gamer praised the story as riveting, but felt it faltered towards the end. PCMag in particular criticised the decision to have the protagonist act out a "Chosen One" role. Other reviewers found the narrative to be lacklustre and illogical at times.
The characters were mostly well received. Windows Central described them as interesting and noted that they added depth to the world. CNET complimented them for being well-written and positively remarked on their ethnic diversity, which was echoed by PCMag. IGN praised the companions for their characterization and roles. The cast performances received similar compliments. PCMag wrote that their quality made conversations feel natural. On the other hand, Video Games Chronicle considered certain NPCs beyond Hogwarts to be lifeless. Hardcore Gamer wrote that the protagonist's rivals, Ranrok and Rookwood, failed as compelling antagonists and were inferior compared to other established Harry Potter villains.
Reviewers were critical of Legacys technical aspects. PC Gamer experienced brief but frequent pauses at doors and frame rate drops during uneventful moments. Eurogamer Germany noted shading issues and rigid facial expressions on character models, and CNET thought that their eye movements occasionally felt unnatural. Many noted that the performance was affected by technical problems, including slow loading of textures, frame rate inconsistencies, visual glitches, clipping objects, and inconsistent lighting. GameStar reported performance problems overall while reviewing the PC version, especially in areas with many NPCs, but said the first patch alleviated some of these problems.
As a result of the surrounding Rowling, some publications chose not to cover or review Hogwarts Legacy, and the internet forum ResetEra banned all discussion of it. Wired gave it the lowest possible score, describing the story and gameplay as mediocre and harmful. In response to the controversy, the studio added that the development focused on creating a "rich and diverse" world that would represent all groups of people. PinkNews reported that transgender character Sirona Ryan's inclusion was dismissed by some activists as insincere and unnamed sources involved in the development allegedly stated that the character added nothing substantial and was solely created to avert criticism.
In the US, Hogwarts Legacy topped the monthly sales charts for February 2023. In the UK, it debuted and remained atop of the physical sales chart for five consecutive weeks, and fifteen weeks in total.UK physical sales chart (consecutive for first five weeks)
Analysts compared its first-week sales to those of Elden Ring, noting increases of 80% in physical sales and 88% in digital sales. In Germany, it sold more than 600,000 copies in two and a half weeks. Across Europe, the Hogwarts Legacy launch ranked as the sixth-largest for a video game since the inception of the European Monthly Charts. In Japan, Hogwarts Legacy debuted atop the software sales chart with the PlayStation 5 version selling 67,196 physical copies. It held the top spot for an additional week and had sold a total of 172,820 physical copies by 14 May 2023. The PlayStation 4 version sold 44,947 physical copies by 4 June 2023. As of 4 February 2024, the Nintendo Switch version reached 95,156 physical copies sold. On Steam, Hogwarts Legacy peaked at over 489,000 concurrent players during early access. It marked the second-highest concurrent player count for a single-player game at the time, behind only Cyberpunk 2077, which reached over 1 million concurrent players. The game peaked at more than 879,000 concurrent players, making it the game with the eighth-highest concurrent player peak overall at the time. Steam separates pre-orders and official releases for reporting purposes, which meant Hogwarts Legacy occupied the top four spots on the platform's sales chart at some point during its first week of release.
Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game of 2023 in the United States, breaking a 14-year games industry streak of either a Call of Duty or a Rockstar Games release holding the top spot. It was also the eleventh best-selling game in the US in 2024. It was the second best-selling game in Europe for 2023. Excluding Electronic Arts's football game, no other game had achieved comparable unit sales in a calendar year since the launch of the European charts in 2017. The game topped the annual sales charts of 2023 in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and reached the top three in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Sweden. On Steam, it was among the best-performing games of 2023.
At the 20th British Academy Games Awards , Hogwarts Legacy was longlisted in nine categories, and was ultimately nominated for the British Academy Games Award for Animation and British Academy Games Award for Family. It was nominated for "Game of the Year" and won "Best Game on Steam Deck" at The Steam Awards . At France's 2024 Pégases awards, Legacy was nominated for "Best Foreign Video Game". At Poland's 2024 Digital Dragons Awards, it was similarly nominated for "Best Foreign Game". Eurogamer Germany awarded Hogwarts Legacy as "Best Fanservice" in its 2023 awards. At the PS Blog Game of the Year Awards 2023, it was nominated in seven categories. It won "PS4 Game of the Year" and placed as runner-up in the categories "Best Use of DualSense" (Gold Trophy) and "Best Audio Design" (Silver Trophy). The Escapist named it one of five best action-adventure games of 2023. Hardcore Gamer nominated Hogwarts Legacy for "Best Action Game", while IGN named it a runner-up for "Best Open-World Game". It appeared on several year-end lists of 2023, including GamingBolt (9th), British GQ (21st), BAFTA Games, Gamepressure, Der Spiegel, BBC News and The Telegraph.
| +Awards and nominations for Hogwarts Legacy | ||||
| Golden Joystick Awards | 22 November 2022 | Most Wanted Award | ||
| The Game Awards | 8 December 8 2022 | Most Anticipated Game | ||
| Golden Trailer Awards | 29 June 2023 | Best Video Game Trailer | ||
| Japan Game Awards | 21 September 2023 | Award for Excellence | ||
| The Steam Awards | 2 January 2024 | Game of the Year | ||
| Best Game on Steam Deck | ||||
| Grammy Awards | 4 February 2024 | Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media | ||
| D.I.C.E. Awards | 15 February 2024 | Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction | ||
| Outstanding Technical Achievement | ||||
| Annie Awards | 17 February 2024 | Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game | ||
| Game Developers Choice Awards | 20 March 2024 | Best Audio | ||
| British Academy Games Awards | 11 April 2024 | Animation | ||
| Family | ||||
| Artistic Achievement | ||||
| Audio Achievement | ||||
| Best Game | ||||
| Game Design | ||||
| Music | ||||
| Narrative | ||||
| Technical Achievement | ||||
| BMI Film & TV Awards | 5 June 2024 | BMI Video Games Award |
In September 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery's Gunnar Wiedenfels stated that a sequel to Hogwarts Legacy would be one of the corporation's primary goals. The sequel is planned to be connected with the upcoming Harry Potter reboot television series.
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