The Harry Potter franchise hasn’t had the best luck with video games over the years, or at least with those that didn’t turn its characters into plastic figures. If new leaked footage is any indication, however, that could change, as it appears that Warner Bros. is moving forward on an intense open-world game set in the Wizarding World.
A minute-long teaser trailer for the untitled game was shared on Reddit and YouTube, and it shows character customization, detailed Hogwarts environments, fantastic beasts, hidden areas located on treasure maps, and plenty of wand-based combat. At one point, we see several goblins face off against a young wizard, who uses the “Expulso” spell to send them flying backward. One appears to be impaled and killed as a result of this, and environmental destruction lets the wizard drop the ceiling down on several other enemies. The video has since been removed from YouTube, and we’ve replaced it with screenshots and a GIF below.
According to the Reddit user who posted the video, the game will be set in the 19th century, which is earlier than both the main Harry Potter series as well as the Fantastic Beasts spinoff films. You play as a fifth-year Hogwarts student who must investigate mysteries surrounding Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest along with Professor Elezar Fig, and you’ll be able to play as eight potential wizard types. You can choose to be either good or evil, and can apparently use “unforgivable spells,” made famous by Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the books.
The Reddit user added that they were able to capture the footage secretly during a survey at a mall they were visiting, and that they actually have more footage but didn’t feel comfortable uploading it all yet. They said the game’s still images were giving off Skyrim vibes, suggesting it could be grander in scope than we might expect.
As Polygon pointed out, if the game ends up being real, it is likely in development at Avalanche Software. Not to be confused with Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios, Avalanche Software previously worked on the Disney Infinity series, and was spotted hiring for a game writer with “a deep understanding of British culture” last year. If not Harry Potter, it’s almost certainly a gritty Paddington game, and we’d be fine with that, too.
Updated on 10-2-2018 by Gabe Gurwin: Added note mentioning that video has been removed.
