Warner Bros. celebrated Hogwarts Legacy's success at the beginning of 2024. WB Interactive Entertainment President David Hassad announced early January that the game had sold more than 22 million copies in 2020, including more than 2,000,000 during the festive season. He boasted that this made the game "the best-selling year in the entire industry."
This is not surprising. Harry Potter and the Wizarding World, despite any controversy surrounding its creator J.K. Rowling has been one of the most successful media franchises in the world, making more money than the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Call of Duty. Hogwarts legacy wasn't the first Potter title, but previous titles were movie tie-ins and Lego versions, puzzle games, and mobile titles. This was the first big-budget standalone game set in the Potter universe, and many fans had been waiting for it.
Gunnar Weidenfels, WB Discovery CFO, has stated that a sequel is inevitable. He also gave a vague timeline.
"Obviously, a sequel to 'Hogwarts Legacy,' is one of our top priorities in a few years," said Wiedenfels, at the Bank of America 2024 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference. (Thanks, Variety). "So, there is certainly a substantial growth contribution from [games] in our strategic outlook."
This may sound a little tight for AAA, but the name of the series is a notable asset. Each entry must be set in and around Hogwarts somehow, and WB Avalanche has already built the place. This may sound a bit tight for AAA, but the name of the series is a notable asset. Each entry must be set in or around Hogwarts in some way, and WB Avalanche already built the place.
Weidenfels, in a similar vein to Arkham, described Rocksteady's Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League for WB as a "miss". Bloomberg reported that following the poor reception of Suicide Squad, Rocksteady staff were now assigned to work on a forthcoming but unannounced Howarts Legacy Director's Cut. It makes more sense if WB Avalanche has already started work on the next film.
It took WB a long time to reach this point. During the heyday, EA was happy to make tie-ins with the movies under license. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is the latest in a series of Potter games. It's a reimagining of the wizarding game featuring many of the original characters. It's unlikely that there will ever be an eighth Harry Potter book. But if it did, then perhaps it should be called Harry Potter and Extremely Happy Stockholders.
Comments