SUMMARY
  • Unbroken Studios' latest effort has had a problematic release, especially because of Microsoft's servers.
  • Harry Potter fans looking forward to diving back into the Wizarding World were left disappointed on Xbox.
  • While the servers affecting online multiplayer may have made sense, even the single-player modes don't work offline.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions was an extremely anticipated title, mainly because of the fact that it has been more than two decades and quite a few console generations since a proper video game based on the sport was released.

While Electronic Arts presented a really fun gaming adaptation of the sport in Quidditch World Cup, one of its biggest strengths was its ability to allow players to enjoy the game as soon as they bought it, regardless of whether they wanted to play it solo or with friends on the same system. Unfortunately, as the industry has rapidly evolved over the years, it has also been accompanied by many problems, one of which has directly affected the 2003 title’s spiritual successor, especially on Microsoft’s consoles.

Thanks to Horrible Server Issues on Xbox, the Wait for Playing Quidditch Champions Gets Even Longer

Quidditch Champions can't keep relying on nostalgia, as players are unable to even check the game out properly.
Quidditch Champions can’t keep relying on nostalgia, as players are unable to even check the game out properly.

The exclusion of Quidditch from last year’s smash hit Hogwarts Legacy only increased the excitement levels for the Unbroken Studios title, as fans of J. K. Rowling’s long-running franchise could not wait any longer to grab a magical broom and start flying around in competitive matches.

As Warner Bros. Games launched Quidditch Champions earlier today on various platforms all across the world, players were quick to try and jump in to see how current-gen gaming technology would have enhanced the experience they once had at the beginning of the 21st century. However, while things have been running relatively much better on Sony’s PlayStation 5, numerous members of the Xbox community have pointed out that they are actually unable to play the game thanks to some horrible server issues.

There has been a lot of focus on the multiplayer aspects of Quidditch Champions, as Unbroken wanted to provide players with the opportunity to take part in competitive rounds online against other gamers, but with the addition of single-player options like the Career Mode, it seemed like the game offered something for everyone. Sadly, it turns out that even the content that players can get through solo is not accessible unless their Xbox consoles are connected to the internet and there are no network issues.

But considering that the Microsoft servers could not really handle the player influx and have been very problematic since the title’s launch, Harry Potter fans have had to wait even longer to dive back into the Wizarding World.

Harry Potter Fans Are Understandably Angry at Unbroken Studios’ Latest Title and Microsoft

The spiritual successor to Quidditch World Cup is not off to the best start, as it has been facing issues the original title never had to go through.
The spiritual successor to Quidditch World Cup is not off to the best start, as it has been facing issues the original title never had to go through.

Considering that Quidditch World Cup never had to go through these problems simply because there were no live-service elements involved when it was released on the very first Xbox, fans of Harry Potter and Electronic Arts’ game are not too happy with what they are having to experience on much better hardware.

While players could just put the disc into the console back in the good old days and enjoy both the single-player and multiplayer, they do not have that luxury in modern gaming, as gamers suspect that the issues are probably being caused by Quidditch Champions‘ live-service nature and online options.

The Harry Potter fanbase has also pointed out that Unbroken Studios could have taken some notes from how Avalanche Software handled things for arguably one of the biggest video games based on the franchise.

It has been a long time since the Wizarding World fanbase got the chance to turn into its favorite iconic characters and play some Quidditch, but with the kind of launch that has accompanied Champions, perhaps the wait was not really worth it.