‘Hogwarts Legacy’ has sales of Warner Bros. games. by wingardium leviosa, earning $850 million in global sales and moving more than 12 million units in just the first two weeks after its release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. according to numbers released Thursday by the video game company.
This marks the biggest worldwide release ever for the Warner Bros.-owned brand. Discovery, with the action role-playing game “Harry Potter” also setting the Twitch record for single-player games with 1.28 million peak concurrent viewers at launch.
As Variety previously reported, “Hogwarts Legacy” opened with amazing player engagement, clocking over 267 million hours from its February 10 release to February 21. On Thursday, Warner Bros. Games revealed that the game had broken the company’s records with 280 million hours to date.
According to Warner Bros. Discovery, “Additionally, there was an increase in fan engagement globally with Wizarding World Digital garnering 300% higher traffic than its normal monthly unique visitor average for the first 10 days of February.”
Sales figures for “Hogwarts Legacy” were released by Warner Bros. Games shortly before the earnings of the parent company Warner Bros. Discovery for the fourth quarter on Thursday. During the fourth quarter earnings call, CEO David Zaslav touted the impressive returns and noted the media giant’s continued focus on Harry Potter, among its other popular IPs, with plans to “take full advantage of these unique franchises”.
The game’s arrival and subsequent success has sparked heated debate among “Harry Potter” fans, who have grown increasingly upset as author JK Rowling continues to publicly express offensive views about transgender people. Although Rowling was not creatively involved in the game, she benefits financially from its sales, raising concerns about whether playing the game equates to supporting anti-trans causes. The ongoing PR headache for Warner Bros. will likely get more complicated as Rowling continues to address her controversial statements on “The Witch Trials of JK Rowling” podcast, which debuted on Feb. 21.
Developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under the Portkey Games label, “Hogwarts Legacy” 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 1800s, the game invites players to embark on an epic journey as a fifth student at Hogwarts, gifted with a rare ability to harness ancient, powerful magic. Guided by the magician’s field guide and unique instructions from professors and other characters, fans will discover an exciting story filled with exciting challenges and mysteries.
“We are so excited and proud to see the response to ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ from players, fans new to gaming and critics around the world,” said David Haddad, president of Warner Bros. Games. “Our development team at Avalanche delivered a stunning, high-quality Wizarding World experience that truly fulfills fans’ imaginations of life at Hogwarts, and our publishing teams delivered a globally impressive launch campaign.”
“Hogwarts Legacy” Deluxe Edition is available now for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for $79.99 (SRP) and PC for $69.99 (SRP) and will be available on April 4 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and July 25 for Nintendo Switch for $69.99 (SRP). “Hogwarts Legacy” Standard Edition is available now for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for $69.99 (SRP) and PC for $59.99 (SRP) and will be available on April 4 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and July 25 for Nintendo Switch for $59.99 (SRP). is g
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