There are many franchises out there that would make great source material for an MMORPG, bringing players together in a familiar world. For example, a Pokemon MMO has been highly requested by hardcore fans for many years now, as it would be fun to jump into the fictional universe, choose an origin region, and battle it out against players from all over the world. Likewise, the Harry Potter Wizarding World franchise is the perfect source material for such a project.
It's surprising that more original Harry Potter projects haven't come about considering how renowned the franchise is. Wizards Unite, the augmented reality mobile game, was styled similarly to Niantic's most popular AR game Pokemon GO, allowing players to learn spells and fight against mythical beasts. But even though it accrued about $37 million in revenue, its popularity didn't last and Wizards Unite is set to shut down at the end of January 2022.
It looks like Wizards Unite didn't hit the right chord with players, which is one of many reasons why Avalanche's action-adventure game Hogwarts Legacy has so much anticipation riding on it. Sure, the LEGO Harry Potter games were fun, but the Wizarding World hasn't yet explored context outside of Harry, other than the Fantastic Beasts films. While Lord of the Rings has explored its universe in prolific ways such as the Middle-earth: Shadow series, which saw great success, Harry Potter has yet to do this. This is why unofficial Harry Potter tabletop RPGs similar to Dungeons and Dragons are so popular. An MMORPG would be an excellent way to bring players together virtually while expanding on the deep and complex lore of the Wizarding World, especially in unexpected ways.
Hogwarts Houses and Magical Schools
When it comes to roleplaying in the Wizarding World, Hogwarts Houses are one of the first big questions to come to mind, and it's one of the things players are looking forward to the most with Hogwarts Legacy. Hogwarts Houses essentially act in place of a race or class in the Wizarding World, identifying a series of traits in any given character like intelligence in Ravenclaws or bravery in Gryffindors. When it comes to Hogwarts Legacy, it's hoped that the Hogwarts Houses and their attributes will add more depth to the experience, paving the journey in some way, like Dragon Age's take on the race and class system, and an MMO should be no different.
Of course, there are other obvious ways that the assigned Hogwarts House makes a difference, such as when joining a Quidditch team. But it would be interesting to see Houses influence a subject focus leading up to NEWT-level proficiency in that class such as Potions, Transfiguration, or Defense Against the Dark Arts, which could open pathways to various other questlines and events. However, something along these lines would be anticipated of a Harry Potter video game, and there's a way that a Harry Potter MMO could implement Houses in an unexpected and exciting way.
There are many more wizarding schools out there than just Hogwarts. Many fans know of Ilvermorny, the school located in the United States where many characters from Fantastic Beasts were educated. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang play a big role in Goblet of Fire, competing in the Triwizard Tournament. There's also Koldovstoretz located in Russia, Castelobruxo in Brazil, Uagadou in Africa, and Mahoutokoro in Japan, and some of them have a bigger focus on certain subjects. For example, Durmstrang is known to embrace the Dark Arts rather than teach students to fear that kind of magic. Allowing players to choose between schools could be a refreshing and original take on the series with lots of room for original content and a great expansion on the Wizarding World's lore.
Major MMORPG Elements
However, one big question mark is how a Harry Potter MMO could implement combat. Of course, in the Wizarding World, combat is equivalent to spellcasting, however, not a lot of combative spellcasting takes place on campus grounds on a regular basis. Throughout the Harry Potter books and films, it happens due to problems brought by the villains, mostly from Voldemort's side. Sometimes there are conflicts between students, like the occasional duel between Harry and Draco, but there's not actually a whole lot of combat going on in general.
There are many ways that developers could go about this. Firstly, a Harry Potter MMO could take pages from Palia's book. Palia is an upcoming MMORPG inspired by Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Breath of the Wild, and while combat will make an appearance, it won't be the main mechanic the way it is in many big MMOs like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14. Instead, it highlights other mechanics like community building, crafting, and socializing.
On the other hand, there are certainly many unique ways a Harry Potter MMO could introduce PvE and PvP battles through events, such as a yearly Triwizard Tournament or even original events conceived by the development team. Problems with fantastic beasts could arise around the school grounds and duels between players could frequently occur during the appropriate classes. Likewise, clubs are a great way to introduce new activities and quests similar to guilds and factions.
All in all, there's a lot of material for a development studio to use as a jumping point and plenty of room for creative originality. This is what will hopefully make Hogwarts Legacy a successful game. It's set in the Wizarding World, so the lore and rules are already set in stone, but players will get to "write history" by experience and dictating a story that's never been told before. Instead of regurgitating a chapter of Harry, Ron, and Hermione yet again, a Harry Potter MMO would need to be unique and unexpected, breathing new life into a familiar franchise with original quests and mechanics.