It's not unusual for developers and publishers to reveal games only to then go dark for the next few years. For example, Hogwarts Legacy. After being revealed at a State of Play in 2020, Warner Bros. and Avalanche Software haven't posted an update since early 2021. The last time we heard of Hogwarts Legacy was that it was going to be delayed from its original 2021 release window.
Although fans had high hopes for a Hogwarts Legacy trailer at Sony's most recent State of Play event, which included the likes of Exoprimal and Valkyrie Elysium, the game did not ultimately appear. But, completely out of nowhere, Sony just confirmed that a State of Play presentation is coming this Thursday, March 17, exclusively for Hogwarts Legacy.
It has been a long road for Hogwarts Legacy.
Fans first got wind of the Harry Potter RPG back in 2018, when looked footage of the game first appeared online. Three years later and Hogwarts Legacy was pushed back to a 2022 release date after reports of low staff morale over at Avalanche following J.K. Rowling's remarks against the LGBTQ+ community. Ultimately, Warner Bros. had to distance itself from the controversy, clarifying that the award-winning author holds no influence over Hogwarts Legacy.
Now that Sony is scheduled to hold a showcase centered on the open-world Harry Potter title, the game is in a good position to come out in September, as leaked earlier this year.
As per WB Games Avalanche's community manager, the Hogwarts Legacy State of Play event will run for 20 minutes, including 14 minutes of gameplay footage on the PS5. The presentation will start at 2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET / 10:00 PM CET.
The most interesting part about the upcoming State of Play is that it's the first time Sony will hold one specifically for a third-party game - and a non-PlayStation exclusive at that. Because of this, some are speculating that Sony will announce that it has secured timed-exclusivity over Hogwarts Legacy, which wouldn't be entirely surprising. Hogwarts Legacy is a big game that could sell millions of units.
By making Hogwarts Legacy exclusive to the PS5, even if it's only for a limited time, Sony can give itself another exclusive to go with God of War: Ragnarok later this year. These two should be enough to give Microsoft some competition as Sony's biggest rival prepares to release exclusives like Redfall and Starfield.
At the very least, audiences should at least find out when Hogwarts Legacy will be launched on Thursday. Speaking of, Gotham Knights, another one of Warner Bros.' upcoming titles for this year, will come out on October 25. All that's left now is for the publisher to confirm if it's true that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be delayed to 2023 or not.
