Hogwarts Legacy is a forthcoming role-playing game set in the world of Harry Potter that will be released in early 2023 for console and PC.
Here’s everything we know about it so far.
Hogwarts Legacy release date
Although the game was originally scheduled for a 2021 release, it was put back to 2022 due to the developer wanting more time to create “the best possible experience for all of the Wizarding World.”
That was then put off even further, and we now have a new “final” release date: 10 February 2023.
However, this has turned out a little complicated - it turns out that this date is only accurate for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
If you’re playing on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you’ll have to wait until 4 April 2023 instead.
Switch gamers, meanwhile, have an even longer delay on their hands, until 25 July 2023. This is a pretty unusual release schedule for a game, and suggests its developers might be having optimisation trouble on older consoles.
Hogwarts Legacy platforms
Hogwarts Legacy is planned for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC, although as you will have read above, these versions will have different release dates.
We know that it will have some extra features on PS5 thanks to the above trailer which showcases how it’ll use the excellent DualSense controller to the maximum, with advanced haptics and lighting. So, you’ve got that to look forward to if you have a PS5.
Hogwarts Legacy story
Along with gameplay reveals, the biggest trailer for the game yet (as you can see below) revealed certain key storyline elements.
As the game is set approximately 100 years before Harry Potter was born, and around 50 before the events in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, it tells a completely new story set in JK Rowling’s Wizarding World.
A new threat comes to light, for example, with a rogue band of goblins and their leader Ranrok seemingly wanting to start a revolution. They also seem to partner with a mysterious human wizard, Victor Rookwood, who some fans believe to be the ancestor of a Death Eater who first appeared in the movie version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
VGC claims that Augustus Rookwood is mentioned in a flashback sequence in that film and, as the Potterverse rarely repeats names without purpose, it could be that Hogwarts Legacy leads into Fantastic Beasts (and then Harry Potter) as a definitive prequel.
In January 2023 we got a look at the cast of Hogwarts Legacy, including a starring role for Simon Pegg as the school’s headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black - this is an even more direct tie-in to the books given his presence in Sirius Black’s house as a portrait.
There are plenty of other interesting cast members including a deputy headmistress that is actually an ancestor of the Weasley family, so we’re expecting to meet plenty of interesting, vibrant characters as we play the game through.
Exciting stuff.
Hogwarts Legacy gameplay footage and details
A special edition PlayStation State of Play online stream was posted online in mid-March 2022. It included just over 14 minutes of previously unseen gameplay footage.
Another video followed with a behind-the-scenes look at the game, where we get to hear some of the developers talk about what to expect.
Then, in November 2022, the developers really let us soak in a huge amount of gameplay during a dedicated showcase stream, which has over half an hour of in-depth footage for you to enjoy.
It might be enough to constitute some light spoilers in fact, so maybe skip it if you know you’re definitely keen to play the game at release.
This was followed up in December 2022 by a showcase that featured a whole heap more action and some really interesting looks at how you’ll get around the world - by broom and by Hippogriff.
It features a look at an open world that looks impressively detailed, and also showcases how the world will change between seasons, when it’s blanketed by snow in winter, for example.
There’s also an extended combat section as your character faces foes in the duelling arena, and some glimpses of what you’ll get up to in the Room of Requirement.
Hogwarts Legacy screengrabs
Several screens have been released so far. You can swipe through them below…
