Hogwarts Legacy is the biggest game launch of the year so far, already outdoing the numbers touted by Elden Ring.
As reported by GamesRadar, sales data in Europe show that Hogwarts Legacy’s digital sales on the first week were higher than that of Elden Ring’s by 56 %. It is believed to be one of the biggest game launches since Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018.
To put this in context, games like Hogwarts Legacy, Elden Ring, and Red Dead Redemption 2 are nowhere close to the sales numbers that the big annualized franchises have. That includes Call of Duty, but also EA’s sports games, like Madden and FIFA, now to be called EA Sports FC.
So, there is no question that Hogwarts Legacy has been a successful game, in spite of the firestorm of controversy surrounding it. It likely has had a huge outpouring of support from Harry Potter fans, in spite of the toxic association to that IP. That toxicity does not just come from JK Rowling’s questionable politics, which itself isn’t limited to her views on transgender folks, but also includes her rejection of Scottish independence.
The book series Rowling has written has come under fire multiple times for instances of racial insensitivity; this mainly involves the long accusation that her characterization of goblins is anti-semitic, but also includes her appropriation of Native American religion in her writing on Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Finally, the movie franchise Fantastic Beasts has surprisingly been a firestorm of controversy all on its own, for having cast actors like Ezra Miller and Johnny Depp.
Hogwarts Legacy itself is counterproductive to its own success. Days after launch, Avalanche Software is still patching the game up to work on its performance issues. It certainly does not bode well for the game’s upcoming ports.
As for the rest of 2023, there are still plenty of high profile games that seem poised to overtake Hogwarts Legacy’s crown. Long anticipated console exclusives Starfield, Redfall, and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, are projected to be system sellers themselves, and are each likely to tear apart the sales charts.
Also on the way are some high profile third party games, including Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Dead Island 2, Diablo 4, Street Fighter 6, Lies Of P, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Tekken 8, and Final Fantasy 16. These include some legacy titles that usually have one game per five years, and also some promising new original IP.
But Hogwarts Legacy itself is still not done releasing. It will still be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on April 4, 2023, and Nintendo Switch on July 25, 2023.
