EA’s director of product marketing from 2000-2003 has revealed details on why a Harry Potter MMO was cancelled.
In an interview with Twitch Streamer The Real Brondolorian, as reported by Eurogamer, Kim Salzer, an ex-EA employee, was asked about a game that was never released. “A big one for me, because I was so personally involved in it, and it’s such a huge IP that has lived on is an online massively multiplayer game for Harry Potter.”
“We did all the research, we had the beta built out, it was a combination offline/online experience where we’d actually mail stuff to the kids, like prizes and ribbons and stuff like that,” she continued.
“Thoroughly researched, very confident in the success of this. But it was killed, for lack of a better term, because EA was going through changes at that time, and they just didn’t know or believe enough that that IP would have a shelf-life longer than a year or two.”
EA retained the Harry Potter licence, but it has since been picked up by Warner Bros. Their upcoming Hogwarts Legacy is expected to be released in 2022. An interview with Warner Bros general manager suggested there were two major Harry Potter releases set for next year. One is the third film in the Fantastic Beasts series. The second is expected to be Hogwarts Legacy.
According to the game’s official website, “Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. Now you can take control of the action and be at the centre of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Embark on a journey through familiar and new locations as you explore and discover fantastic beasts, customise your character and craft potions.”
In other news, Vampyr is free on the Epic Games Store for just 24 hours as part of the service’s holiday giveaways.
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