Topics: News, Harry Potter, Film and TV, Gaming, PlayStation, PlayStation 5, Xbox
Hogwarts Legacy has already made $850 million (AUD $1.2 billion) in its first two weeks after a staggering 12 million copies sold.
According to numbers released yesterday (February 23) by the video game company, Hogwarts Legacy already generated a hefty amount shortly after being launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, as per Variety.
This is officially the biggest global launch for the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned brand.
The role-playing action game also set the Twitch record for single-player games with 1.28 million peak concurrent viewers during its launch.
Earlier this week, Hogwarts Legacy clocked 267 million hours played, 393 million magical plants grown, 242 million potions brewed, and 1.25 billion Dark Wizards defeated.
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Looks like Potterheads are spellbound once again.
“We are very pleased with the initial launch and see a bright future for our other platform launches,” David Haddad, Warner Bros. Games president, explained to Variety.
The open-world role-playing game, set long before Harry Potter’s time in the 1800s, dropped on February 10.
It allows players to attend classes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry while also exploring the likes of Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest.
According to its website: "Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart.
“Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it.”
Despite its commercial success, many have boycotted the game following the controversy surrounding JK Rowling’s past transphobic remarks.
Maysa Pritilata, a trans woman, penned in openDemocracy: "I love video games.
"I'm not boycotting it because I think my money is going to seriously harm the publisher, Warner Bros, or Rowling.
"But why would I do it to myself? Why would I do it to other people, who would feel like I'm validating the game?"
However, Warner Bros. has clarified on its FAQ page that the billionaire author was not involved in the game's creation.
But as Rowling is the 'creator of the wizarding world and one of the world’s greatest storytellers’, the company 'collaborated closely with her team on all aspects of the game to ensure it remains in line with the magical experiences fans expect’.
