Sadly lacking from this year’s Hogwarts Legacy, the popular wizarding sport Quidditch is set to make a return to the realm of video games with the newly announced Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions. The game is being developed for PC and consoles, but whether this includes last-gen consoles is currently unknown (Hogwarts Legacy’s last-gen versions were severely delayed due to difficulties getting them to run at an acceptable standard). Similarly, no prospective release window has yet been given, but the fact that sign-ups for a Beta have now gone live, it may be sooner than you think.
Eschewing the more grounded and realistic look of Hogwarts Legacy, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions appears to be adopting a more cartoony aesthetic. This new look is shown off in the short teaser trailer that plays when prospective players click on the link on the official Twitter post to sign-up for upcoming playtests, as well as on the post itself.
Calling all Beaters, Chasers, Keepers, and Seekers! Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions limited playtest signups are live now! Sign up at https://t.co/E9cQekLOzV. #QuidditchChampions pic.twitter.com/AQhKfg4NKD
— Warner Bros. Games (@wbgames) April 17, 2023
A short FAQ on the game’s official website confirms that the game has been in development for several years and will be a solely multiplayer experience. In their own words: “Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a complete, standalone Quidditch experience, developed by Unbroken Studios. It engages players in the sport of Quidditch and other broomstick adventures alongside friends in a competitive, multiplayer setting.” As the game is a “competitive, multiplayer experience”, it will require a constant internet connection to play.
The game’s developer, Unbroken Studios, has only released two games in its short history – a free-to-play multiplayer mobile shooter called Fantastic Plastic Squad, and Battle Royale called Fractured Lands, both of which were self-published. The company is also, however, listed as co-developers of the recently delayed live-service shooter Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. This means Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions will mark their developer’s first fully internally developed AAA game.
The announcement of this new game only three months after Hogwarts Legacy’s release has fuelled debate amongst fans as to whether or not the sport was cut from the RPG simply to allow WB to sell them another game. The truth behind the decision will likely never be known, but it is important to remember how much time and effort goes into video game development. With everything else Avalanche Studios achieved in Hogwarts Legacy, the inclusion of Quidditch may simply have been cut due to time and budget restraints. Whatever the reasoning, it seems fans will finally be able to take to the skies again and hunt down that elusive golden snitch.
