Hogwarts Legacy 2 Might Not Be Hogwarts Legacy 2 At All

Nothing concrete is known yet about Hogwarts Legacy 2, as it has not even been officially announced. However, with Warner Bros. Games’ future slate of games leaning heavily on the IPs that have proven to be successful for it, there is seemingly no reality where a Hogwarts Legacy sequel is not greenlit or in active development in an attempt to capture lightning in a bottle twice.

Meanwhile, all fans get to stew in are the rumors and supposed leaks that sprout occasionally, including the rumor of Hogwarts Legacy 2 tying into HBO Max’s Harry Potter series somehow. If this rumor turns out to be true, then there is a possibility that Hogwarts Legacy 2 may not be ‘Hogwarts Legacy 2’ at all, but instead a licensed game dedicated to adapting the upcoming TV show into a video game, which could be both a blessing and a curse.

Is Hogwarts Legacy 2 A Harry Potter TV Show Tie-In?

Whether or not it is single-player-exclusive, complete with multiplayer functionality, or embarking on the controversial journey of being an MMO or live-service Harry Potter game, the successor to Hogwarts Legacy actually manifesting as a Harry Potter TV show tie-in game would be quite divisive. For instance, many fans would probably be thrilled to have what could essentially amount to a AAA remake of the classic Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone games, only within the context of HBO Max’s retelling.

A brand-new game that lets fans play as Harry and experience the same events that are depicted in his first year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would create obvious synergy. That said, it is difficult to imagine how a series of games would be able to maintain a breakneck speed with releases alongside the launch of subsequent seasons of the show.

Still, a possible decade’s worth of tie-in Harry Potter games would also be fairly disappointing if it meant that we will never get a proper Hogwarts Legacy 2. If it inherits Hogwarts Legacy’s open-world, action-RPG gameplay, as well as thorough customization, players might not be disappointed by the loss of Hogwarts Legacy, even if it is doubtful that a hypothetical tie-in game would let an 11-year-old Harry cast Unforgivable Curses.

Hogwarts Legacy Deserves To Be A Standalone Franchise

With any luck, the ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ branding will be reserved for original storytelling with new characters and eras in the Wizarding World. Half of the charm of Hogwarts Legacy is having an incredibly familiar setting dressed in an unfamiliar era, and it would be neat to have Hogwarts Legacy 2 either commit to the late-1800s or explore another era beyond the modern era—relatively speaking, anyway—that the Harry Potter movies and upcoming TV show take place in.

Another advantage Hogwarts Legacy’s distinct era boasts is that it keeps the lore of Harry Potter at arm’s length. Here, Hogwarts Legacy does not need to be concerned with established canon too painstakingly, focusing far more on novel storylines and extrapolating that lore further.

It will be fascinating to see what has been decided between another original Hogwarts Legacy game or a Harry Potter tie-in, especially because it is likely to define the future of AAA Harry Potter games. There is also a possibility that Hogwarts Legacy 2 and a tie-in Harry Potter game could be in development simultaneously, either with both being developed by Avalanche in the hopes of having back-to-back releases, or each developed by a different studio—at this point, it’s anyone’s guess.

Systems

Released

February 10, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol

Developer(s)

Avalanche Software

Publisher(s)

Warner Bros. Interactive

Engine

Unreal Engine 4

Cross-Platform Play

Hogwarts Legacy doesn’t have crossplay or crossplatform support

Cross Save

you can freely use your saved data between each console as long as you are connected to the internet and signed into the same account where the saved data was created

Number of Players

Single-player