It has been revealed that Hogwarts Legacy has the already almost outsold Elden Ring. Strong reviews and positive fanfare have led to Hogwarts Legacy having one of the strongest launches for a game in a long time.The sales numbers are made even more impressive by the controversy that embroiled the game pre-launch. A string of controversial comments from J.K. Rowling about the transgender community left many feeling they had no choice but to boycott the game. Speedrunning event Games Done Quick even banned Hogwarts Legacy from its charity marathons, a position that currently remains unchanged. However, developer Avalanche Software made an effort to distance itself from Rowling's comments, even including a transgender character in the game.RELATED: Hogwarts Legacy Player Defeats River Troll Without Using Any SpellsThe report comes from Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz, who claims that Hogwarts Legacy has is on the brink of outselling FromSoftware's hit Elden Ring. As well as this, in Europe Hogwarts Legacy was the fasting-selling game at launch for a generation, when excluding the FIFA series. The launch sales so far are even bigger than every Call of Duty game in the last six years, a remarkable feat given the popularity of Activision's flagship franchise. It was clear from the first two weeks that Hogwarts Legacy's sales would be huge, but it has kept up the impressive momentum throughout the month to become the fifth best-selling game in total of the last 12 months. It only has FIFA 23, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, GTA 5, and Elden Ring to catch now.

What makes the numbers even more impressive is the lack of release on previous-gen consoles. Hogwarts Legacy's PS4 and Xbox One versions were recently delayed again, so it'll be some time yet before previous-gen players get their hands on the game. When they do, those numbers will surely shoot up even further, with Elden Ring having the advantage of launching on both generations simultaneously. Many gamers have struggled to get their hands on the PS5 and Xbox Series X due to a lack of availability over the past few years. While it's becoming less of an issue as of late, it remains an important factor in the enduring popularity of the PS4 and Xbox One.

It remains to be seen how the success of Hogwarts Legacy affects the future of the series. Ultimately, the Harry Potter franchise will always guarantee a certain level of interest, but Hogwarts Legacy has particularly engaged audiences in a way that the recent Fantastic Beasts series struggled to achieve. It'll be some time before a potential Hogwarts Legacy sequel materializes, and for now players will have to hope that Avalanche Software is hard at work producing DLC for the game. No matter what happens, there's no doubt that audience appetite for more Wizarding World content is alive and well.

Hogwarts Legacy is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with PS4 and Xbox One versions launching May 5 and a Switch port releasing July 25.

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Source: GamesIndustry.biz