Hogwarts Legacy Is Now the Biggest Game Launch for WB Games

Hogwarts Legacy has sold 12 million copies in just two weeks, WB Games confirmed. Having earned $850 million (about Rs. 7,026 crore) in global sales across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X, this marks the biggest game launch for the company. While the notion of a Harry Potter AAA open-world title was always bound to gain traction, its impact on the franchise as a whole is surreal. In a press release, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery claimed that there has been an increase in fan engagement on Wizarding World Digital (Harry Potter website), gaining 300 percent higher unique visitor traffic in the first 10 days of February, when compared to the normal average.

Speaking to Variety, earlier this week, David Haddad, WB Games president stated that players had put 280 million hours into Hogwarts Legacy already. This figure is tallied from the launch period through February 22, and therefore, excludes the 72-hour early access playtime, which was available to those who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition. In fact, that early access gave a significant boost to Hogwarts Legacy, pushing it to dominate Twitch charts with a 1.28 million peak concurrent viewership. It is now the no. 1 single-player game on the platform, surpassing the records set by Cyberpunk 2077. Sure, some of it can be attributed to item drops and streamer drama revolving around the boycott of author J.K. Rowling, but it is still a massive feat. The report also revealed that players had grown 393 million magical plants, defeated 1.25 billion Dark Wizards, and brewed 242 million potions.

Hogwarts Legacy Review: Under a Spell

“Our development team at Avalanche delivered an amazing, high-quality Wizarding World experience that truly fulfils the fan fantasy of life at Hogwarts, and our publishing teams have executed a globally impactful launch campaign,” Haddad said in a press release. To compare, Cyberpunk 2077 sold over 13 million copies in its first three weeks, while it took FromSoftware’s magnum opus Elden Ring 18 days to sell over 12 million units. The latter crossed the 20 million mark, earlier this week, almost a year after its release.

Hogwarts Legacy is in a strong position here, with its sales only bound to increase once the last-gen PS4 and Xbox One versions roll out in April, followed by a Nintendo Switch version in July. And unlike Cyberpunk 2077, players haven’t reported major game-breaking bugs or performance issues with Hogwarts Legacy that would lead them to ask for a refund. Over on Steam, Hogwarts Legacy amassed an all-time peak of 879,308 concurrent players — short of the 1,054,388 peak concurrent players CD Projekt Red’s open-world title generated.

Another report from this week suggests that an HBO Max series based on Hogwarts Legacy is in early development. I’d suggest taking this with a grain of salt, but Variety noted previously that Warner Bros. sees the game as a “long-term” franchise. Set in the 1800s, Hogwarts Legacy whisks you on the whimsical journey of a fifth-year student with the rare ability to tap into ancient magic. In it, you explore the iconic magic-laden castle, the Forbidden Forest, and battle Dark Wizards, as you master spells, herbology, potions, and more.

Hogwarts Legacy is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X. The previous-gen PS4 and Xbox One versions are set for an April 4 release, while the Nintendo Switch version drops July 25.