“They better not make it live service”: Hogwarts Legacy 2 Confirmed by Warner Bros., but Fans Have Some Clear Conditions for the Sequel
It looks like another trip to the Wizarding World is back in order, as Warner Bros. Games officially confirms the sequel to Hogwarts Legacy.
- After the massive success of Hogwarts Legacy in 2023, a potential sequel was naturally going to be on the table.
- Warner Bros. Games has officially confirmed that it is prioritizing another installment following Avalanche Software's smash hit.
- With the publisher's recent live-service fumbles, the Harry Potter fanbase wants another single-player narrative-driven experience.
Just last year, the iconic Wizarding World made an epic comeback into the realm of video games with Hogwarts Legacy, a title that not only resonated with a lot of the Harry Potter fanbase but also proved to be a massive commercial hit for publisher Warner Bros. Games. Being responsible for one of the best-performing games of 2023, the company was unable to keep its momentum up, with some glaring misses hurting its recent track record even further.
However, as various major live-service titles from prominent studios have come and gone in a matter of months, Warner Bros. has officially confirmed that it is going to expand on its extremely successful Wizarding World title.
A Sequel to Hogwarts Legacy Is Being Prioritized at Warner Bros. Games
Undoubtedly one of the best video games to come out in 2023, Hogwarts Legacy turned out to be a satisfying experience for both newcomers to the Wizarding World and longtime fans of J. K. Rowling’s expansive magical universe.
Unfortunately, WB’s winning streak ended with the less than ideal reception to last year’s Mortal Kombat 1 and truly got a hit when Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League failed to live up to the expectations of both the fanbase and the company.
Addressing the Bank of America conference yesterday, the Chief Financial Officer at Warner Bros., Gunnar Weidenfels, discussed numerous areas in which the company is looking to make some changes and implementations, ranging from the WB film division to its television department.
Naturally, the topic of the company’s presence in the world of gaming was also brought up, as the CFO emphasized that it is still a “strategic asset” for Warner Bros. despite some of its recent failings. “It is, just like the film business, a hit-driven business,” stated Weidenfels regarding Warner Bros. Games as he proceeded to provide an amazing update for Harry Potter’s massive fanbase.
“Obviously a successor to Hogwarts Legacy is one of the biggest priorities in a couple years down the road,” confirmed the Chief Financial Officer, which should not be too surprising considering the level of success that it managed to achieve amid such tough competition in 2023.
After Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s Downfall, Fans Want a Greater Focus on Quality Single-Player Experiences
It was not that long ago that Warner Bros. itself admitted that it fumbled quite a bit with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a live-service Rocksteady Studios-developed title that did not perform as well as the publisher may have wanted.
Understandably, gamers were not too fond of the Task Force X game either, despite it coming from a developer that had already garnered a lot of popularity due to its excellent work on the narrative-based Arkhamverse titles. And although Harry Potter fans are looking forward to the sequel to Hogwarts Legacy, they are cautiously optimistic about the concept, presenting a major condition that has to be followed for it to not be another Warner Bros. Games flop.
Hogwarts Legacy was a solely single-player experience with some of the greatest main and side quests in modern gaming to keep its players coming back for more, which are aspects that many of today’s live-service titles fail to properly apply.
It would be interesting to see if Warner Bros. Games actually takes player feedback into account when the development on a Hogwarts Legacy sequel officially begins.
But with the recent industrial shift that has proved that single-player titles still have a huge place in gamers’ hearts, perhaps the upcoming Wizarding World game would be wise to steer clear of any live-service offerings and continue to build upon the foundation laid by the first title.
