‘Hogwarts Legacy’: Despite Controversy, ‘Harry Potter’ Video Game Is a Best-Seller Before Its Release

19th century, Hogwarts. You are a student entering the prestigious academy of magic when the fifth year has already begun and you must catch up with your subjects while investigating the world around you and the secrets it hides. Besides, you will find out You are the only person who can unlock an ancient magic that could be the answer to the great threats lurking, but you will have to learn to control it. This is the premise of ‘Hogwarts Legacy’, the ‘Harry Potter’ video game that is taking off and already It’s a best-seller…even if it’s not officially released yet. Its slogan translates as “Live what is not written” and is that in this new game you decide (almost) everything.

It’s by no means the first “Harry Potter” video game; in fact the Portkey Games brand is owned by Warner Bros. and specializes in this magical universe; but it has become one of the most anticipated games of the year, as anticipated by the Game Awards. Its trailer is the most viewed on the PlayStation YouTube page, surpassing ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’ and ‘God of War’ with its 31 million views (and more), in the same way that the official gameplay has 4 , 8 million views since its launch a month ago, resulting in an avalanche of videos and articles breaking it down in detail. Even if it’s still a month away from launch, ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ tops the bestseller list (excluding free games) on major gaming platforms, ahead of games like “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” on Steam and “Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Edition” on the Epic Store.

One of the reasons ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ is hitting from now on is because the ‘Harry Potter’ fandom hasn’t enjoyed for a long time, between the moderate success and changes of ‘Fantastic Beasts’, and the divisions that the controversial statements of its author JK Rowling produced, potterheads didn’t have much to celebrate. Plus, no game before has been this ambitious. We were already familiar with RPGs such as the recent “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” and “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery”, but never with this one. advanced level of customization: now not only can you create your own avatar by altering your body and even your voice, but you can also have and edit your own shelter, “The Sims” style.

Instead we find a open world, which allows for greater immersion and increases the curiosity and illusion of all fans for whom even novels and films have little flavor. You can venture through it Forbidden Forestvisit the Hogsmeade village and discover the mysteries that the hogwarts castlewhere thanks to the gameplay we recognize mechanics similar to those of ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, perhaps the most innovative game released so far.

You’ll have extracurricular assignments to keep up with the rest of your classmates, including growing magical plants, brewing potions, and practicing spells and enchantments that let you choose which talent to focus your combat system on. The rest of the magic school students are developed NPCs with whom you can make friends; Depending on who you decide to have by your side, you will access new knowledge. Among the skills that you’ll need to master the included broomstick flying and you can even do broomstick competitions, although unfortunately you won’t be participating in Quidditch matches. You’ll also get the chance to experience that world on the back of a hippogriff (Buckbeak’s great-grandfather?) and meet other magical creatures to interact with.

Being set in the 19th century, the scene is familiar but many settings and rooms are new, just like we will not recognize the vast majority of charactersalthough we will see some familiar faces among the castle’s more veteran inhabitants, such as the iconic Nearly Headless Nick.

The game doesn’t have microtransactions, like in previous video games, but has a fixed purchase price of €59.99. The only add-on purchase available is the Dark Arts Pack Expansion, included in the Deluxe Version ($69.99). A price that may seem high, but that hasn’t stopped many enthusiasts from buying only after seeing the content of the promotional trailer and the gameplay. Until the February 10th We won’t know if “Hogwarts Legacy” will live up to the expectations set, but it certainly comes stomping.

Controversy and boycott

“Hogwarts Legacy” is one of many video games that divide the public. The conditions under which most triple-A, i.e. high-class, games are played tend to be surrounded by dark histories ranging from labor exploitation (called “crunching” in the industry) to sexual harassment, which tends to result in to boycott attempts that ultimately have no impact on the game or its studio. While ‘Hogwart Legacy’ has not yet been blamed for any of these problems, the truth is that it has already brought controversy: it is impossible to think of a ‘Harry Potter’ product without mentioning the writer of the novels, who built his reputation in the last years. The player claims it “JK Rowling is not just a transphobe. She is the most famous and most socially accepted transphobe in the world”. The media ensure that although many people do not agree with the author’s transphobic opinions, they will continue to buy the video game, much to their regret: “Boycotts don’t work, but you still have a moral imperative to stand up to the damage when you see it”. He concludes that while Rowling did not participate in the development of the game, “Supporting Harry Potter is supporting Rowling, and always will”.

Bloomberg published in 2021 that “Hogwarts Legacy” will allow the character creation process to choose to be a wizard or a witch regardless of the body selected, which seems like a clear attempt to access the trans community, although it would still exclude the non – binary collective. As the media write, various developers “they fought to make the game as inclusive as possible” after Rowling’s statements, as well as for including a transgender character as a declaration of intent and although the studio had shown its reluctance, they finally agreed to include the witch / wizard choice in the customization process. One small step.

This is not the only controversy on which those who boycott the video game are relying. “Hogwarts Legacy” has been criticized as such “anti-Semite”. This has been a topic of debate ever since the films themselves, as NBC points out: “The greedy long-nosed goblin bankers who run Gringotts Wizarding Bank closely resemble the caricatures of greedy, long-nosed Jews that have been a hallmark of anti-Semitic propaganda” for decades. In the game, these goblins are even worse: they are the antagonistic minority trying to rebel against the wizards for not having wands and allies with evil wizards, and it is the protagonist’s goal to reveal this and stop them. Many have made a different reading of the “bad guys”: goblins usually depicted as greedy and calculating seem nothing more and nothing less than a “oppressed species” who wants to rise to achieve freedom. As usual, it’s a very different view from that of house elves (submissive slaves), because in ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ the protagonist will also have his own Dobby, an elf named Deek. Considering the possible inspiration from leprechauns and Jews, the new anti-rebellion storyline didn’t go over well with many fans.

‘Hogwarts Legacy’ will be available from February 10th on major video game platforms and can be played on PC, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®4 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.