New details have emerged about the long-rumored AAA Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Harry Potter game in development, per reporting from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg. Corroborating a previous report, Avalanche Software has again been identified as the developer. Warner Bros. was apparently planning to reveal this game at E3 2020 before the conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the official announcement will reportedly take place sometime after DC FanDome in August.
Players will be able to explore an open-world version of Hogwarts and the areas that surround it, and the Harry Potter game will release on at least PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. J.K. Rowling has reportedly had very little direct involvement with the game, which may be fortunate considering the author has been criticized for recent transphobic comments. Given how inextricably linked she is to the franchise, the developers at Avalanche are reportedly concerned about how the game will be perceived by the general public now.
Additionally, reports have been circulating that Warner Bros. Interactive itself will be sold off, which could potentially have ramifications for the Harry Potter game. In the most extreme case, the cost and years-long development of the game could make it a more vulnerable candidate for total cancellation, according to Matthew Kanterman, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Early footage of the Harry Potter game was leaked back in 2018, and development is on track for the game to release in late 2021.
