After months of radio silence following its initial reveal in September, Hogwarts Legacy has been delayed. Portkey’s licensed game set in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was perhaps the worst-kept secret in the gaming industry, with leaks and rumors surfacing months before its reveal. To add insult to injury, Harry Potter creator, J.K. Rowling has done irreparable damage to the brand through a series of transphobic remarks on social media.
This morning, the official Hogwarts Legacy and Portkey Games social channels shared a statement reading: “We would like to thank fans from around the world on the tremendous reaction to the announcement of Hogwarts Legacy from our Portkey Games Label. Creating the best possible experience for all of the Wizarding World and gaming fans is paramount to us so we are giving the game the time it needs. Hogwarts Legacy will be released in 2022.”
— Hogwarts Legacy (@HogwartsLegacy) January 13, 2021
While Hogwarts Legacy has been delayed to 2022, WB Games still has a packed 2021 ahead of them. The next installment in the beloved Batman Arkham franchise, Gotham Knights; the finale to the Lego Star Wars games, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and the Left 4 Dead spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood are all set to come out this year.
Although the statement seems to imply that the game isn’t polished enough, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the world. Executives and developers alike across the industry have made it clear that development right now is incredibly unpredictable. Neither Portkey Games nor WB Games officially cited the pandemic as a factor in the delay, but given the magnitude of the delays we’ve seen, it’s likely that it was a factor. Since two of WB’s remaining games slated for 2021 have yet to receive actual release dates, delays wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.
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