Since the Harry Potter books were first released, fans have dreamed of getting to explore Hogwarts in an open-world video game, and now, Hogwarts Legacy is promising to fulfil that dream. After a couple of delays, the game is finally nearing its release date, which means that you’ll soon get to create your very own witch or wizard and guide them around the grounds of Hogwarts.
With that in mind, we thought now would be a good time to take a look at everything we know about Hogwarts Legacy. When is the game coming out? Where will you be able to play it? What kind of gameplay features will it have? You can find all of that information and more right here, so without further ado, let’s take a look at everything we currently know about Hogwarts Legacy!
Hogwarts Legacy release date – when is the game coming out?
The official Hogwarts Legacy release date is February 10th…sort of. While the game is coming to current-gen consoles and PC on that date, it’s actually got a different release date for other platforms.
On PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Hogwarts Legacy’s release date is April 4th. This is likely because the devs need a little extra time to make sure the game works well on last-gen consoles. After all, it looks like a technically and graphically demanding game.
That’s also likely to be the reason behind the Hogwarts Legacy Switch release date being July 25th. The Nintendo Switch is starting to look like a fairly underpowered system compared to modern alternatives like the Steam Deck, and it’s going to take some real magic to get Hogwarts Legacy running on such outdated hardware.
Hogwarts Legacy platforms – where will you be able to play it?
As outlined above, Hogwarts Legacy is coming to the following platforms.
- PS5 – February 10th
- Xbox Series X/S – February 10th
- PS4 – April 4th
- Xbox One – April 4th
- Nintendo Switch – July 25th
Hogwarts Legacy gameplay features – what can you expect?
As an open-world action RPG, Hogwarts Legacy will give you free reign to explore Hogwarts and its surrounding areas like Hogsmeade Village, the Forbidden Forest, and Diagon Alley, as well as other areas from the movies and books. Of course, Avalanche Software and Warner Bros are keeping quiet about all of the areas you can explore; something’s got to remain a secret, right?
Hogwarts Legacy is set in the late 19th century, so the school and its surrounding areas probably won’t look exactly as you remember them if you’re a fan of the franchise. You might not meet too many characters with whom you’re familiar, but you could well meet their ancestors (more on which later).
You’ll be able to create your own character and assign them a house, and as you progress through your time at the school, you’ll unlock new spells and abilities by gaining XP and levelling up. The open world will also have various ambient challenges for you to take on, so even while you’re not tackling story missions, there should be something for you to do.
Combat in Hogwarts Legacy will involve casting different spells to stun or damage your enemies, as well as brewing potions which will have a variety of different effects. You will also be able to tame various magical creatures including the ghostly thestral and the majestic hippogriff. Other creatures, like dragons and trolls, will also feature in the game, either as hazards or as animals with which you can interact.
Who’s in the Hogwarts Legacy voice cast?
As you might expect from a franchise with the kind of pedigree that the Wizarding World has, the voice cast for Hogwarts Legacy will be pretty impressive. Perhaps the most prestigious actor appearing in the game is Simon Pegg, whose name you’ll almost certainly know from Edgar Wright productions like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Spaced. He’s also appeared in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movies, as well as briefly appearing in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (although you probably wouldn’t recognise him there!).
Other voice actors include Sebastian Croft and Amelia Gething, who will voice the two types of player-created character (it is possible to mix and match genders in Hogwarts Legacy, so the two voice actors don’t strictly correspond to “male” and “female” character types). You can also look forward to Downton Abbey’s Lesley Nicol appearing in the game as Matilda Weasley, an ancestor of the Weasley family and a professor at Hogwarts when the game takes place.
If you’re familiar with the Malayam film industry, then you may recognise the name of Asif Ali, who plays a wizard called Amit Thakkar in the game. Another voice actor starring in Hogwarts Legacy is Luke Youngblood, who played the Gryffindor student Lee Jordan in the movies and who returns to voice a character by the name of Everett Clopton here. All in all, it’s a pretty impressive voice cast, so we’re looking forward to seeing what they do with the material.
Hogwarts Legacy is shaping up to be a pretty impressive and interesting take on the open-world action RPG genre. It helps that the game will offer the chance to explore a world many players have dreamed of inhabiting for decades, and although developer Avalanche Software doesn’t exactly have the most reliable pedigree, it seems that they’re going to deliver something magical (no pun intended) with Hogwarts Legacy.
