Credit: Warner Bros.New footage just leaked from the next Harry Potter installment – and fans aren’t overly impressed, claiming that it “looks terrible, every aspect of it.”
It’s been 26 years since JK Rowling officially created the Wizarding World, but it continues to grow to this day. What started as a seven-book series with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” has today become eight movies, a Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them spinoff, a two-part Broadway production, and multiple Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks at Universal Studios Parks across the globe.
The Harry Potter franchise is set to grow even bigger in the next few years. Earlier in 2023, HBO announced an upcoming reboot of the series. Each Harry Potter book is set to be adapted into its own series, which will reportedly be even more faithful to the written word than the movies led by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, and co.
Considering that the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild are both currently on strike, there haven’t been many updates on the progress of this new series, including any official announcements on the new Harry Potter reboot cast (although we do know that Daniel Radcliffe does not plan on making a cameo).
However, Harry Potter fans have had plenty to keep them occupied in the meantime, with the release of the immersive video game “Hogwarts: Legacy” – which gave fans the chance to create their own character and explore the Harry Potter universe – and teasers for the upcoming game “Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions.”
The latter is yet to announce its release date. However, development has been ongoing at Portkey Games for years – and seems to be pretty thorough, considering the fact that footage just leaked online.
A few months after Portkey Games held closed beta tests, 10 minutes of footage leaked on a Reddit gaming thread. This gave fans a first look at the Quidditch field, as well as at the character options (fans can choose between designing their own character or playing as franchise favorites Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Cedric Diggory, Cho Chang, Oliver Wood, and more).
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The footage also showed how the game itself will play out, complete with a boost bar in which players will need to track every element of the game – from the Beaters deflecting the Bludger to the Seeker trying to catch the Golden Snitch. Players can switch positions mid-game, with five players on each team.
However, Harry Potter fans aren’t overly impressed by the leak. One of the biggest complaints is that the “broom flying looks bad” – especially for a game that’s so fast-paced and hectic in the source material. Some described it as looking “a bit boring,” while one disgruntled fan dismissed “every aspect” as looking “terrible.”
The footage has since been deleted from YouTube due to a copyright claim from Warner Bros. This is only initial gameplay for a title that is definitely far from refined, considering that we don’t have a release date, so hopefully these issues are hashed out before it’s available to the masses.
Are you excited for “Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions?” Let us know in the comments!