I hate to say it, but I'm getting REALLY nervous about Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions...
For those who aren't fully up to speed, Hogwarts Legacy didn't have a Quidditch mode even though the Hogwarts Quidditch field was accessible. Early on in the game's release, we were all hoping it would drop as DLC but then Portkey Games announced Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions would be it's own standalone game.
At first, I was a little upset - but then I quickly realized how much better of a decision this was. If you've played Hogwarts Legacy, you know the broom mechanics are a bit....awkward. Even the best broom in the game doesn't quite maneuver exactly how you'd like.
So after reflecting a little bit, I realized it was the best decision for Portkey Games to tweak their flying mechanics and also put their full effort + attention into a Quidditch mode. They even decided to partner with a separate studio: Unbroken Studios to help develop the game. So, I was fully on board for a standalone Quidditch game!
But that game was announced in April 2023 and since then...it's been radio silence. That really worries me. I'm all for gaming studios taking their time to develop and work out the game's kinks. However it just seemed odd to me to release news about Quidditch Champions that early.
On the other side, I'm assuming they announced Quidditch Champions because they knew that was the only piece of the puzzle missing for Hogwarts Legacy. So they wanted to combat the negativity of no Quidditch with proof they were working on it.
Hogwarts Legacy was without a doubt, one of the best games I've ever played! I mainly say that because it had all the expectations of the world and somehow surpassed them. Sure, there was no multiplayer aspect to the game but the storyline and the exploration of Hogwarts was absolutely out of this world!
Especially when we live in a day in age where gaming studios continuously let us down, Portkey Games made sure that didn't happen.
Now as it relates back to Quidditch - I have faith that Portkey Games will deliver another gem. But we have to remember the difficulties their facing:
Quidditch Isn't A Real Sport
Alright here comes a "no sh*t, MRags" moment and I understand that! A full game of Quidditch has never been seen. The rules make sense in theory but how will a full match be played out? How long are the matches? When will the snitch be released? How easy will it be for the seekers to catch the snitch?
My point is that the small filler details are really open for interpretation which leaves a lot of room for Portkey Games to improvise how they believe the best way Quidditch will be played in an online multiplayer setting.
There's Too Many Damn Consoles
This one here is a 2 for 1 - some reports are saying that Quidditch Champions is waiting for the Nintendo Switch 2 to release before the game will releases. That isn't until 2025 at the earliest. So I'm praying this isn't the case.
Another factor is the issue that they may be trying to optimize the game for PS4 and Xbox One. I'm sorry, I truly hate to say this...but we gotta leave the PS4 and Xbox One players in the dust. It's time to upgrade if you wanna play the next generation of games!
So instead of just focusing on next gen consoles, Portkey Games is trying to optimize the game on so many consoles. However, we aren't exactly sure which consoles the game will ultimately be released on...
This is from the official Quidditch Champions website:
Also...
Outside of one of the difficulties listed, I'm also nervous because I haven't seen gameplay yet. There was a private beta that was released for only a handful of users on PC, but Warner Bros. quickly took down all the leaked gameplay footage. So only that small user base has any real experience or valid opinion on the game.
I'm mainly going on this rant because I'm extremely bored in the current gaming landscape. Once this new TFT set drops, I'll be going hard but until then I'm still dreaming about the games I'm most excited to play next. Hopefully we hear some Quidditch Champions news soon!
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