Many Harry Potter fans have long dreamed of an immersive experience like the one Hogwarts Legacy provides, and footage from the game's VR mod promises to take that experience even further. Though Hogwarts Legacy only officially launches on February 10, Avalanche's entry into the Wizarding World has already amassed a huge player base across all three platforms, and the numbers will only continue to grow once the exclusive early acess stage ends. Hogwarts Legacy is the biggest WB Games launch on Steam, eclipsing titles such as LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
The reason for this success is simple: the Harry Potter fandom has been starved for an ambitious open-world title set in the Wizarding World, and Avalanche's vision for Hogwarts Legacy scratches that itch. At its heart, Hogwarts Legacy is an action role-playing game that lets players create their own Witch or Wizard to attend Hogwarts, and from the Sorting Ceremony to picking out a wand at Ollivanders, it's a personalized experience top-to-bottom. The version of the eponymous castle found in Hogwarts Legacy has been fun for many fans to explore, and for the people at Flat2VR, adding VR to the formula is a no-brainer.
Though the team at Flat2VR has no release date for their Hogwarts Legacy VR mod yet, they have prepared a video showcasing its features in a 10-minute deep dive. The mod will allow players to experience Hogwarts Legacy in both first-person and third-person mode, and the functionality will fully extend even to cutscenes.
Despite the popularity of Hogwarts Legacy on Twitch, the game hasn't been without its controversies. Many fans are finding it impossible to reconcile the transphobic views of J.K. Rowling with the role-playing game made by Avalanche, and even one of its developers is making the choice to not buy the game. While it's unlikely that the call for a boycott will noticeably slow down the commercial success of Hogwarts Legacy, it has caused many to reconsider their personal relationship with the Wizarding World and the Harry Potter books as a whole, as the disconnect between the author and her audience continues to grow.
Regardless of the overarching controversies that surround the Harry Potter IP, many people are commending the developers at Avalanche for creating an inclusive and well-crafted open-world experience that will no doubt bring joy to many Harry Potter fans (and even players simply in want of a spell-casting RPG). With an unofficial VR mode on the way, the modding scene for Hogwarts Legacy is steadily emerging, and the game may well look wildly different a year from now.
Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled to release on February 10 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, April 4 for PS4 and Xbox One, and July 25 for Switch.