Hogwarts Legacy has surpassed Warner Bros. Games sales of Wingardium leviosa, grossing $850 million worldwide and more than 12 million units in just the first two weeks of launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC moves.
This is the largest global launch for Warner Bros. Discovery’s video game company to date, with the action role-playing game Harry Potter also setting the Twitch record for single-player games with 1.28 million concurrent viewers at launch.
As Variety previously reported, “Hogwarts Legacy” kicked off with stunning player engagement, surpassing 267 million game hours from launch on February 10-21. On Thursday, Warner Bros. Games announced that the game had broken the company record with 280 million hours played on Dating.
Per Warner Bros. Discovery, “Additionally, there was an overall increase in engagement from global franchise fans, with Wizarding World Digital seeing 300% more traffic than the normal monthly average of individual visitors for the first 10 days of February.”
The game’s arrival and subsequent success has sparked a heated debate within the Harry Potter fandom, who are increasingly unnerved as author JK Rowling continues to publicly express views that offend transgender people. While Rowling didn’t get involved creatively with the game, she does benefit financially from its sales, leading to concerns whether playing the game is tantamount to supporting anti-trans efforts. The ongoing PR headache for Warner Bros. is likely only going to get complicated as Rowling continues to address her controversial statements on The Witch Trials of JK Rowling podcast, which debuted Feb. 21.
Hogwarts Legacy was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label. It features an original story first introduced in the Harry Potter books that puts players at the center of their own Wizarding World adventure. Set in the 18th century, the game invites players to embark on an epic journey as a fifth year student at Hogwarts, gifted with a rare ability to harness ancient, powerful magic. Guided by the wizard’s field guide and unique directions from professors and other characters, fans will discover an immersive story full of exciting challenges and mysteries.
“We are so excited and proud to see the player reaction to ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ from gamers, fans new to gaming and reviewers around the world,” said David Haddad, President of Warner Bros. Games. “Our development team at Avalanche delivered an amazing, high-quality Wizarding World experience that truly fulfills the fan fantasy of life at Hogwarts, and our publishing teams have delivered an impactful launch campaign around the world.”
The “Hogwarts Legacy” Deluxe Edition is available now for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for $79.99 (MSRP) and PC for $69.99 (MSRP) and will be available on April 4th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well as July 25th for Nintendo Switch for $69.99 (MSRP). The Hogwarts Legacy Standard Edition is available now for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for $69.99 (MSRP) and PC for $59.99 (MSRP) and will be available on April 4th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well as July 25th for Nintendo Switch for $59.99 (MSRP).
