Today we celebrate the release of the action role-playing game Hogwarts Legacy on PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label, the game is set in the Wizarding World universe, based on the Harry Potter novels. Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2023. According to the Portkey Games website “Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. For the first time, experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart.”
If there’s anything as certain as death and taxes, it’s that there will be some form of Harry Potter-inspired Metaverse for us all to explore in the not-to-distant future. And when we say not-to-distant future, here at themetabite.com we’re putting our money on a first iteration of a persistent, hyper-realistic, immersive, virtual world, that allows planetwide interactions, in real-time, sometime around 2035-2040. The first iteration of what will eventually become the Harry Potter Metaworld will likely appear sometime in within the next five to ten years.
Assuming you’ve not been unconscious or off-world for since 1997, you’ll be familiar with the series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling, which has gone on to become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard and titular-hero, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against a dark wizard called Lord Voldemort, whose objectives include immortality, the overthrow of wizarding world and the subjugation of all wizards and Muggles (non-magical people).
So, what might this ‘wizarding world’ look like? The sheer scale of J. K. Rowling’s fully-realized wizarding universe provides sufficient scope to populate an entire Metaworld exclusively focused on Harry Potter-centric content and provides all the key Metaverse elements, from gaming and esports, to socialising, learning and shopping. But where to start?
On arrival at the Harry Potter Metaworld, what better place to start your journey than from Platform 9 and ¾? All Hogwarts students begin their journey from Platform 9 and ¾, and a virtual replica of this iconic setting could provide the perfect central hub from which visitors can plan their trips to various locations in the Harry Potter Metaworld. Once familiar with their environs, visitors will have a number to transportation optionsn at their disposal. Locate a fireplace, throw in a pinch of Floo Powder, and use the Floo Network to travel to different locations, stick out your thumb and grab a lift on the triple-decker Knight Bus, use a Portkey (an enchanted object) to travel to a pre-specified location, or simply pull out your broomstick from your inventory and follow your nose.
From Platform 9 and ¾, visitors can teleport themselves to an assortment of sites including: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Diagon Alley; the Forbidden Forest; the village of Hogsmeade; and the Quidditch Trillenium Stadium. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry provides the perfect setting for online learning. Study fictional subjects, such as Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid or Potions with Professor Snape, that help you build your standing in the Harry Potter Metaworld, as well as real-life subjects, such as Astronomy with Professor Sinistra or Herbology with Professor Sprout. Diagon Alley provides the perfect setting for visitors to purchase both digital assets and real-world items. Enhance your avatar with the latest garb from Twilfitt and Tattings or Madam Malkin’s Robes for all Occasions, upgrade your broom at Quality Quidditch Supplies, or treat yourself to a new pet from Eyelop’s Owl Emporium. The Forbidden Forest is an ideal venue for various online games, including wizarding duels, the village of Hogsmeade, and The Three Broomsticks in particular, provides visitors a place to kick back, relax and chat to friends over a Butterbeer, and the Quidditch Trillenium Stadium provides the perfect venue for wizarding esports.
All in all, J. K. Rowling has provided an almost perfect Metaworld for us to explore. Don’t forget to leave a comment below!
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