Hogwarts Legacy has been out less than two weeks and fans are already more engaged in the game than they were in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
The game allows players to attend an 1800s version of Hogwarts, the school made famous in the Harry Potter books and films.
The game’s launch has inspired the highest traffic in the Harry Potter community fan platform Fandom in more than seven years, Variety reported.
The platform reported that Hogwarts Legacy-driven page views surpassed the Eddie Redmayne-starring Fantastic Beasts’ highest spike by 39% in just five days.
As of Tuesday (21 February), Warner Bros Games says Hogwarts Legacy has seen more than 267 million hours played, 393 million magical plants grown, 242 million potions brewed and 1.25 billion Dark Wizards defeated.
“The player engagement is spectacular,” David Haddad, Warner Bros Games president, told Variety.
“We are very pleased with the initial launch and see a bright future for our other platform launches.”
The game’s release was met by some unsuccessful calls for a boycott over Harry Potter creator JK Rowling’s views on transgender issues.
Read a timeline of the author’s comments about women and transgender rights here.
Rowling did not have any involvement in the concept or writing of the game, but she will receive royalties from its sales.
This week, the first two episodes of The Witch Trials of JK Rowling – a podcast series exploring the author’s views – were released.
In the episodes, Rowling addressed topics including her traumatic miscarriage, Harry Potter and her controversial remarks on gender ideology.
Read the six biggest talking points from the first two episodes here.
Hogwarts Legacy is out now.
