Harry Potter Prequel Game Hogwarts Legacy Gets Delayed Again, Release Date Set in 2023

Gaming Potterheads will have to wait another extra two months for the game's arrival in 2023.

The "Harry Potter" prequel game from publisher Warner Bros. and developer Avalanche Software has been pushed back again, with a new release date of February 10, 2023. The open-world adventure game set in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was supposed to arrive in December this year.

"The team is excited for you to play, but we need a little more time to deliver the best possible game experience," Warner Bros. took to Twitter to say on Saturday. The publisher added that the new Hogwarts Legacy release date is only applicable to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X versions of the game and that the Nintendo Switch game does not have a new release date yet, Polygon reported.

What is Hogwarts Legacy?

Hogwarts Legacy is a "Harry Potter" prequel game set in the late 1800s, around a century before Harry himself enrolls in Hogwarts. The game will enable gamers to play as a new wizard or witch starting as a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. There, players will learn advanced magic techniques such as brewing and casting spells, making new friends and fighting off dark wizards at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Despite being a "Harry Potter" prequel game, writer and creator J.K. Rowling is not involved in the creation of the Avalanche Software game. After Hogwarts Legacy was first announced in September 2020, Warner Bros. ensured to distance the game from Rowling, who has made several transphobic remarks on gender identity.

Hogwarts Legacy Delayed for the Second Time

This isn't the first delay encountered by Hogwarts Legacy. According to The Verge, developer Portkey Games said in January 2021 that the delay was to required to ensure the game had "the time it needs." But this second delay echoes the same sentiment that the developers again need more time to finish the game.

More concerningly, there isn't a Hogwarts Legacy release date set for the game on the Nintendo Switch. TechRadar reported that game developers are finding it a challenge to get the open-world RPG run smoothly on the Nintendo console. Back in March, the media outlet commented that Hogwarts Legacy's gameplay was "a richly detailed and, frankly, gorgeous take on the Harry Potter universe."

This raised concerns about whether the Nintendo Switch could "capture that magic." TechRadar's Vic Hood predicted that there would be "no way" Hogwarts Legacy would visually appear the same as it did on the PlayStation 5 gameplay and it would be likely its performance would be different as well. Hood cited "performance issues" when it comes to developing such a game for the less-powerful Nintendo Switch, which is most likely why there hasn't been a release date announced.

Hogwarts Legacy is currently being developed by Avalanche Software, a company that was acquired by Warner Bros. from Disney back in January 2017. Warner Bros. also established the new publishing label called Portkey Games that was tasked to manage the Wizarding World license.