It's difficult to overstate the impact the Harry Potter franchise has had on pop culture in the last few decades. With such a strong pedigree, Hogwarts Legacy has a lot of expectations riding on it, even with J.K. Rowling's increasingly controversial actions in the present. Fans and detractors of Hogwarts Legacy alike may be interested to learn that more news on the project is scheduled to be revealed early next year.
Hogwarts Legacy is an upcoming action RPG being developed by Avalanche Software that will allow players to explore the wizarding world J.K. Rowling created. The game is set all the way back in the 19th century, long before any of the other installments in the franchise. It will allow players to create their own customizable witch or wizard who will begin as a fifth-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The developers have been pretty quiet over the last year, but a recent tweet from Avalanche Software's verified Twitter account has broken the silence. The tweet wishes fans happy holidays from the development team and promises that more updates on the project will be coming early in the new year. It's possible that the silence from Avalanche Software is connected to Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's increasingly vocal transphobia, which has affected many people and projects.
The tweet was accompanied by a short gif that seems to show off the title sequence for Hogwarts Legacy. The gif focuses on a zoomed-out view of Hogwarts castle rising out of the trees and fog, with a cloaked figure--presumably the player character--standing on a cliff overlooking the school while the game's title writes itself into existence. Leakers have hinted that Hogwarts Legacy was planning to release more news updates soon, so this news may not have caught gamers who've been following the project by surprise.
If the developers went quiet to find a way to deal with J.K. Rowling's transphobia in Hogwarts Legacy, it's possible that the new update will address the topic. As J.K. Rowling becomes more confident in her opinions and funnels more money toward anti-transgender individuals and organizations, many fans of the Harry Potter franchise are distancing themselves from both J.K. Rowling and the franchise as a whole. In order to secure the future success of Hogwarts Legacy, the developers will likely have to address the issue and present an actionable solution to the controversy.
Hogwarts Legacy releases in 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.