Following the huge success of Hogwarts Legacy–it was 2023’s best-selling game in the US and sold more than 30 million copies globally–Warner Bros. Games is now making a sequel. New details about the game and WBIE’s plans overall for gaming have now emerged.
WB Games president David Haddad told Variety that Hogwarts Legacy 2, or whatever the game is called, could connect to the upcoming Harry Potter TV series in some way. It remains to be seen how this would come to be, however. Hogwarts Legacy was set in the 1890s whereas the TV series is understood to be a re-telling of the Harry Potter books, which take place in the 1990s.
Whatever the case, Haddad said, “We have known for some time that fans are looking for more things in this world, and so we’re spending a lot of time thinking about that.” He added: “Our insights tell us that there are not huge distinctions between a younger version of a fan and an older version of a fan. They’re just deep Harry Potter fans, and we try to build authentic experiences to delight them.”
The executive went on to say that the huge success of Hogwarts Legacy gave the wider company confidence that continuing to invest in the Harry Potter series was a good decision.
“The rest of the company was very curious about what we helped to unlock with Hogwarts Legacy last year,” he said.
Hogwarts Legacy was such a big success that it even outsold Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III in the US during 2023.
Also in the interview, Warner Bros. Discovery boss Robert Oberschelp clarified author J.K. Rowling’s involvement in the Harry Potter series going forward. He said she is not directly involved, but that executives keep her in the loop by way of her agent if WBD’s teams want to go “beyond a canon conversation.” Rowling’s comments about the trans community continue to hang over the magical series.
In addition to Hogwarts Legacy 2, Warner Bros. is reportedly producing a Hogwarts Legacy Definitive Edition featuring additional story content. Hogwarts Legacy released without the ability to take part in Quidditch matches, but a dedicated Quidditch game, Quidditch Champions, released this September.
The Harry Potter movie series was massively popular in the early 2000s, and attempts were made to create a spin-off series called Fantastic Beasts. After three films, however, the series was put on hiatus. Star Jude Law, who plays a young Albus Dumbledore in the series, recently said the franchise may be over.
The TV series, meanwhile, is in the works for Max and is now casting its three leads: Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
fantastic