The recent PS5 event was a big day for fans of the Harry Potter franchise given that the long-rumored open-world RPG, Hogwarts Legacy, has finally been revealed. Of course, the reception of fans on the announcement of Hogwarts Legacy is mostly-positive, especially since many of them have been waiting for a game that offers an opportunity to explore an open-world environment set in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The debut trailer of Hogwarts Legacy is pretty short at under three minutes long. However, that was enough for developer Avalanche Software to showcase what the new game has to offer: Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world RPG game and is set in the prestigious magic school of Hogwarts and its surrounding locations. One thing that players should know about the upcoming game is that it will be set in a much earlier timeline than that of the Harry Potter books, which means that players won't be able to see most of their favorite characters from the popular book series.
Hogwarts Legacy Timeline
As revealed in Hogwarts Legacy's trailer unveiled at the PS5 event, the upcoming game will be set in the late 1800s. It is worth remembering that the Harry Potter franchise took place in the 1990s, so it is safe to say that most characters from the book franchise won't be appearing in the upcoming game. At the moment, the exact timeframe of the game is still unknown, and it is also unclear just how long of a period the game will be set in, whether it will stay in the late 1800s throughout the game or if it will jump over to the early 1900s.
Nonetheless, based on the initial trailer, it appears that players will spend the majority of the game inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a student to learn magic. Fans of the franchise would know that the school was founded in the 10th century, which means that during the events of the game, Hogwarts has already earned its reputation as one of the best Wizarding schools in the world.
Given this, it is likely that the Hogwarts players are familiar with in the book and movie series' are similar to the one that will be depicted in the game despite the century gap. It is still unclear whether the classes that will be offered at Hogwarts will be similar to those available during the time of Harry Potter, but it is likely that they will remain the same. However, it wouldn't be surprising if there would be major changes in some subjects, especially the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
What Should Players Expect To See in the Game Based on The Timeline
Given its setting of late 1800s, there are a few things that are easy to speculate due to its timeframe. First, it is worth noting that Muggles are still yet to acquire the powers of modern technology as they do in the duration of the Harry Potter series. This means that the weapons of non-magical humans are still not as sophisticated as they are in the 1990s, which means that Muggles are not as threatening to the world of Wizardy. But of course, they still account for the majority of the human population, which means that they are still a threat in terms of outnumbering the Wizard population.
In the Harry Potter franchise, witches and wizards have been in hiding for over three hundred years, and most Muggles have already forgotten that humans wielding magical powers, and other magical creatures, even existed, apart from stories and folklore. However, in the timeline of Hogwarts Legacy, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy has just been established for 200 years or less, depending on the exact year the game will begin with.
Of course, in the late 1800s, non-magical humans are still very much aware of witches and wizards. It is also worth remembering that the Second Salem Witch Trial, which happened in 1878 in Salem Massachusetts, falls into the timeline of Hogwarts Legacy, which means that there are still witches and wizards being hunted by Muggles. Given this, the prosecution of magical humans under the hands of Muggles is still all too real, which could be an interesting storyline that might be explored in the upcoming Harry Potter game.
Hogwarts Legacy is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.