Warner Bros. Games didn’t rule out a sequel to Hogwarts Legacy, but the follow-up might not be how fans originally envisioned, with one executive saying WB wants to focus on live-service games.
At a Morgan Stanley speaking event, Warner Bros. Discovery gaming boss J.B. Perette discussed the studio’s strategy to move away from AAA titles and instead focus on more live-service, mobile, and free-to-play games. Perette labeled the industry as “volatile” and pointed out that the company’s most recent project, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League as a disappointment. Despite the live-service title floundering, Perette re-committed to investing in live service games that players will want to spend money on over a long period.
Perette framed the conversation as the difference between a “one-and-done console game” and developing a game around “a Hogwarts Legacy or Harry Potter, that is a live-service where people can live and work and build and play in that world in an ongoing basis.”
Hogwarts Legacy sold over 22 million copies in 2023, making it the year’s best-selling title. Warner Bros. followed up by announcing Quidditch Champions, which we still don’t know much about. Some community members assumed, given its success, that Hogwarts Legacy would easily receive a sequel. But despite this success Warner Bros. is not confident in triple AAA titles performing well again.
The comments are made all the more surprising by the admission of Suicide Squad‘s failure, a title that utilized a ton of beloved Warner Bros. IP and had a live service model baked into the game. At the time of writing, Suicide Squad has a 24-hour peak of 493 players on Steam, according to Steam Charts, while Hogwarts Legacy has a 24-hour peak of over 10,000 players despite the game coming out over a year ago.
For now, all Hogwarts Legacy players can do is sit and hope the company has a change of heart.
Published: Mar 5, 2024 02:22 pm