Hogwarts Legacy

What you go to school for

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA Q4 2022 PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE / DEV AVALANCHE SOFTWARE / PLAYERS 1

Despite the fact it’s still making boatloads of money, there’s plenty of reason to feel like Harry Potter (or rather, the Wizarding World) is a bit past it. The books ended with a whimper, resulting in a story about protecting an undesirable status quo (house elves are literally slaves); the final film adapted from the novels was released over ten years ago, with the ones since being dire spin-offs; and of late author JK Rowling’s received more publicity for her gender-critical views than new writing.

The Wizarding World still does incredibly well offthe nostalgia of those who were around for Pottermania (through mobile game microtransactions, theme parks, and the like), but it seems to be floundering for direction post-Harry Potter. Exactly what does its future look like? That’s something Hogwarts Legacy is in the position to define.

In creating this standalone, single-player open-world adventure in which you create your own character to attend the famous magical school of Hogwarts, Avalanche Software (the developer behind the likes of Tak, Toy Story 3, and yes, the underrated Cars 3) is laying the foundations of the whole series’ future.

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