This year, Leaks stated that Warner Bros. Games and Avalanche Software are collaborating on a new Harry Potter title that was supposed to be announced at E3. A new report confirms that Warner Bros. plans to officially reveal later this year an open-world RPG set in a massive reconstruction of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry world.
Actor Daniel Radcliffe attends the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" at Alice Tully Hall on November 15, 2010 in New York City.
Nevertheless, developers were reportedly "rattled" by COVID-19 pandemic, recent divisive comments by J.K. Rowling, and the proposed sale of the video game distribution firm of Warner Bros.
When is the Harry Potter RPG release date?
This Harry Potter RPG has been speculated a long time ago but was never revealed officially. Warner Bros. still has to announce this long-awaited title, following the alleged gameplay leak in 2018. The project is expected to render players in an open world in Hogwarts and its surrounding areas.
People familiar with the project told Jason Schreier of Bloomberg News that the Harry Potter game is being developed. The said RPG, being produced in Disney Infinity Avalanche Software studio in Salt Lake City, Utah, is expected to be published by the end of 2021.
The rumor was seen in an article published in Eurogamer in 2018 and verified by Bloomberg's 2020 report. Avalanche Software was a former developer owned by Disney and purchased by WB Games in 2017.
The Bloomberg report mentioned the game would be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Still, it does not state that the game will go on PC.
A source just confirmed that Rocksteady was not making it at the time, leaving Avalanche as the likely leading studio. Harry Potter: Magic Awakened was then the working title of the game. Nonetheless, it was released by NetEase Inc.
In May 2020, NTES announced Harry Potter, the Sixth Annual Launch Brand 520 Conference of Magic Awakened. This game, which Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment has co-developed and released in China, is unfortunately not a Harry Potter's open-world RPG game. Rather, it is a well-designed card-based game that can be played by Android and iOS users for beta testing, with stories after the Second Wizarding War.
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Controversies and more
According to the report, controversies over Rowling's recent comments have rendered things awkward for the team leaders and those participating in a Reddit forum dedicated to the alleged RPG.
Rowling commented on transgender people in June 2020; many of its fans were furious. Harry Potter stars like Daniel Radcliffe have spoken out against Rowling's opinion, and her inclusion in the game tends to be a Twitter dealbreaker to some people.
Bloomberg's article reveals that "Rowling continues to be a part of most Harry Potter brand ventures and that the game is no exception." Rowling, however, has very little direct involvement in the project.
Interactive, its gaming division, could also have a significant impact on the game, especially because nothing has been announced yet. The cancelation of E3 2020 would mean that Warner Bros. plans to announce the change needed to take place. The release of the latest Batman titles, which now occurs in DC FanDome, was another game impacted by COVID-19.
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