‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Allows Player Interaction Ahead of Release, Fate of Quidditch Also Revealed

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Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) wearing the Sorting Hat in 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'

Credit: Warner Bros.

Just when you thought all things on the Hogwarts Legacy (2023) front would go quiet following the announcement that it will now be released on February 10 next year, along comes even more surprising news about the game based on the hugely popular Harry Potter books and movies

Recently, some Harry Potter fans were reportedly threatening to boycott the game, which is likely in relation to author JK Rowling, who upset the trans community with gender politics-related tweets. With that said, the Wizarding World has been mired in lots of other controversies as of late.

Hogwarts Legacy
Credit: Warner Bros.

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Whether it’s the financial and critical performances of the last two Fantastic Beasts movies, JK Rowling’s absence from Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022), or pretty much anything to do with actor Ezra Miller, things have been looking grim for some time.

The recent Hogwarts Legacy announcements, however, bring both good and bad news, and we think it’s probably best to get the latter out of the way first, so that we can finally start focusing on all the many positive things the game will bring to the Harry Potter community and beyond!

Hogwarts Legacy
Credit: Warner Bros.

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Straight off the bat (no pun intended), Warner Bros. has confirmed that Quidditch will not be available to play in the game. The open-world role-playing game will allow players to explore the titular School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and many other Wizarding World locations beyond the school grounds.

You’ll be able to brew potions, master spells, learn how to perform countless combat moves, and so much more. Throughout your journey at Hogwarts you’ll also be able to befriend fellow students and forge both an education and a destiny within the Wizarding World.

Hogwarts Legacy
Credit: Warner Bros.

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So, needless to say, Hogwarts Legacy sounds like it’s going to be an incredibly rich Wizarding World experience. But unfortunately, it also sounds like Quidditch is perhaps a step too far for what already sounds like an enormous video game with countless moving parts.

Nevertheless, you’ll still be able to fly your very own broom and explore the Wizarding World by air. But if you were hoping to pursue the Golden Snitch, you’re going to be disappointed (perhaps this is for the best, though, seeing as Quidditch itself was recently at the heart of controversy).

Hogwarts Legacy
Credit: Warner Bros. via PlayStation YouTube

Related: Warner Bros. Stands By J.K. Rowling After ‘Harry Potter’ Author Receives Threats

This update was confirmed via the official Hogwarts Legacy website’s Frequently Asked Questions page. The answer reads as follows:

Quidditch is not playable in Hogwarts Legacy. However, broom flight for traversal and broom race challenges are part of the game. Players can also fly brooms to explore new and familiar locations surrounding Hogwarts Castle.

Never mind, though, because the game will give fans many other things that they have come to expect from an open-world Harry Potter experience, which aren’t just limited to all those things we’ve already discussed.

Hogwarts Legacy
Credit: Warner Bros. via PlayStation YouTube

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Well, that’s the bad news out of the way — now onto something a bit more positive! Not only have some new gameplay trailers been released, but players are now able to actually get sorted into their houses — Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff — before the game is released!

A blog post on WizardingWorld.com confirms that you can now to link your WB Games and Harry Potter Fan Club to transfer all your data, including what house you were sorted into. Then, once Hogwarts Legacy is released in February, you will be prompted to finalize your decision.

Check out the official Hogwarts Legacy trailer below:

Related: 7 Things Fans Want From ‘Hogwarts Legacy’

A brand-new trailer for Hogwarts Legacy has also been released:

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As per the official Hogwarts Legacy website, here’s the synopsis for the game:

Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. For the first time, experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it.

Hogwarts Legacy
Credit: Warner Bros.

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The Wikipedia synopsis, however, speaks more to some of the aspects of the gameplay and the characters you’ll encounter:

Hogwarts Legacy is set in the late 1800s and follows a student starting at Hogwarts in their fifth year. The player character, who holds the key to an “ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart”, is capable of manipulating a mysterious ancient magic, and will need to help uncover why this forgotten magic has suddenly made a resurgence and the ones that are simultaneously trying to harness it.

The player is able to interact with characters previously seen within the Wizarding World franchise including Nearly Headless Nick, The Fat Lady, and Peeves. The player character will also be introduced to new characters such as Professor Eleazar Fig, acting as a mentor figure to the protagonist. Antagonists featured in the game include Ranrok, the leader of the Goblin Rebellion, and Victor Rookwood, the leader of a group of Dark Wizards.

Hogwarts Legacy
Credit: Warner Bros.

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Hogwarts Legacy will be released on February 10, 2023, on all major gaming platforms — Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Nintendo Switch version release date, however, “will be revealed soon” according to Portkey Games.

How do you feel about not being able to play Quidditch in Hogwarts Legacy? Let us know in the comments down below!

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