With much excitement, the release date for Hogwarts Legacy, the highly anticipated role-playing game from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment based on the popular Harry Potter universe, was set for late 2021. However, those eager to get their hands on the game for last-generation consoles and handhelds like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation Vita have recently received some bad news: the release date for these versions has been delayed until sometime after the 2021 release.
This news has understandably disappointed some fans, especially those with older gaming systems who have been waiting for an official Hogwarts game for nearly two decades. Fortunately, the developers behind Hogwarts Legacy have provided some details to assuage their concerns. According to the team, there were two primary factors that led to the decision to delay the game’s release on older platforms.
First, the game engine powering Hogwarts Legacy on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was not compatible with the older hardware. As a result, the developers decided to focus their efforts on creating a brand new game engine specifically tailored to the unique requirements of the legacy platforms. This shift in focus has obviously delayed the game’s release on those platforms, but it also provides a major benefit. Players with older consoles will be able to experience the full power of Hogwarts Legacy at its fullest, without any technical limitations hindering their enjoyment.
Second, the development team wanted to ensure that faithful Harry Potter fans received an optimal experience, no matter what platform they were playing on. Therefore, the team wanted to take the extra time needed to make sure the game met their exacting standards on every platform.
Obviously, the development team behind Hogwarts Legacy had a difficult decision to make; having already pushed back the game’s release past the end of 2021, they knew that delaying it again would be a disappointment. But in the end, they decided that ensuring a smooth launch on every platform was worth any additional wait.
We can only hope that the wait for a magical wizarding experience will pay off in the end. However long it takes for the game to make it to the last-generation systems, we can be sure that the finished product will not disappoint.
