Hogwarts Legacy Fans Worried About Microtransactions Following PlayStation State of Play [Update]

March 17, 2022, 7:22pm

UPDATE: Chandler Wood, Avalanche’s community manager, has confirmed there are no microtransactions in Hogwarts Legacy. The original article continues below.

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The new Hogwarts Legacy PlayStation State of Play showed a lot of amazing gameplay, but some fans are worried that it may include some predatory monetization schemes. Although most games monetize themselves in the form of battle passes now, which are a bit more widely accepted given it clearly lays out what the player gets and how to get it, microtransactions still very much exist. Players can sometimes pay extra money for skins in games with battle passes like Fortnite. They largely cater to online games and focus on cosmetics, but Hogwarts Legacy may be using a more controversial form of microtransactions.

During a section of the Hogwarts Legacy PlayStation State of Play focused on potions, players noticed timers next to some potion brewing stations. For those who have played mobile games, this instantly stuck out as a mechanic that would be used to make players wait extended periods of time to craft items and also offer the option to speed up the timer by paying real money. Although developer Avalanche Software has yet to confirm any kind of monetization plans, it has many players quite concerned. A lot of recent single-player games have largely strayed away from non-cosmetic microtransactions, with some exceptions, after titles like Dead Space 3 caused controversy with their monetization strategies.

Similarly, Portkey Games, Warner Bros.’ label for Harry Potter games, has only released mobile games up until now. Previous Portkey Harry Potter games have featured microtransactions, so this could be something that continues in Hogwarts Legacy. The new game is also receiving backlash due to Harry Potter author and creator J.K. Rowling’s transphobic comments. Although the author is not directly involved with the development of the game, she is expected to receive a cut of the game’s profits due to the fact she owns the IP. It has been reported that Hogwarts Legacy will feature transgender characters, but nothing has been confirmed by Avalanche.

Hogwarts Legacy is set to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC in holiday 2022. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

Are you worried about microtransactions in Hogwarts Legacy? Let us know in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

You can continue reading the article for fan reactions to microtransactions possibly being included in Hogwarts Legacy.