WB Is Already Making a Huge Mistake With Hogwarts Legacy 2

Hogwarts Legacy 2 is in the works at Avalanche Software and WB Games. When it will be revealed or when it will be released, remains to be seen. In fact, we have next to no details on the highly-anticipated sequel. That said, the few details that have been provided reveal a strategy that could backfire.

Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game of 2023 and one of the most successful games of the entire generation. Because of this, you would assume the sequel is going to be nothing more and nothing less than more of the first game. This would be the safe, reliable bet. Yet it sounds like this won’t be the case.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 is set to connect, in some fashion, to the upcoming HBO TV series, which itself is set to be a “faithful” adaptation of the book series from JK Rowling. Of course, this is something the Harry Potter movies already did, so it is unclear what the TV show is going to do differently to set itself apart.

How deeply Hogwarts Legacy 2 will connect with the new TV series reboot, we don’t fully know. However, the connection is supposedly meaningful. What is odd about this is what it means for the game’s setting. Hogwarts Legacy takes place a century before the events of the books. Does this mean the sequel takes place a century after the events of the first game? That would seem odd.

More than this though, Hogwarts Legacy 2 has next to nothing to gain by connecting to the upcoming HBO TV series, but lots to lose. If the show is good, it is going to sell copies of the sequel no matter what, regardless if it is connected. This is obvious, but also represented in the data of previous cross-media adaptations.

What can happen though, is the HBO TV series could have a negative impact on Hogwarts Legacy 2, assuming their connection is meaningful. And in the era of reboots and modern adaptations of classic media often going terribly wrong, it is not difficult to imagine the TV series flopping and taking down anything connected with it.

Unlike the game, the TV show is attempting to adapt and retell the events of the books, and by extension, the movies, both of which have sacred status. It is going to be a very tall task to get it right. To this end, it would make more sense not to deepen the connection with Hogwarts Legacy 2, but let the sequel be more of a standalone product, just like the first game.

For what it is worth, perhaps the connection between the two upcoming projects won’t be as meaningful as suggested and none of this will matter. But if the connection is not overstated, it could end up being a problem for the highly-anticipated sequel.