Saints Row developer Volition, which shuttered in 2023, was developing a Harry Potter game, or at least a pitch for one, and now the first details and images from the project have emerged.
GamesRadar learned about the game and saw images of it at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York recently. The report said developers at Volition, having been big fans of the books, assembled a demo for a Harry Potter game in 1999. This was before the first movie came out in 2001, so the developers created their own ideas for what some of the characters might look like. It's also worth mentioning that Volition at the time was known as Parallax Software Corporation.
The demo included a sequence where Hagrid and Harry Potter are walking around a cobblestone area, with players able to switch between both characters in a top-down RPG setup. The demo doesn't include much in the way of activities, and that's because, Strong Museum's Andrew Borman said, Volition made it in a couple of weeks to pitch to the rights-holders. You can see images of the game at GamesRadar.
Borman said executives from the game developer and publisher attended a pitch meeting in which at least some of the top bosses "came dressed in robes and had owls with them" in an apparent bid to help win the rights.
Volition's pitch was not successful, and Electronic Arts ultimately won the Harry Potter gaming rights, releasing numerous movie tie-ins over the years.
The newest Harry Potter game is Hogwarts Legacy, which launched in 2023 to great success. It was the year's best-selling game overall, even outselling the new Call of Duty game that year. 2024's Quidditch Champions game was less successful, and a Hogwarts Legacy sequel is now on the way.
The Harry Potter universe was created by author J.K. Rowling, who remains involved in the franchise. As such, her comments on the trans community continue to hang over the magical series.
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GamesRadar learned about the game and saw images of it at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York recently. The report said developers at Volition, having been big fans of the books, assembled a demo for a Harry Potter game in 1999. This was before the first movie came out in 2001, so the developers created their own ideas for what some of the characters might look like. It's also worth mentioning that Volition at the time was known as Parallax Software Corporation.
The demo included a sequence where Hagrid and Harry Potter are walking around a cobblestone area, with players able to switch between both characters in a top-down RPG setup. The demo doesn't include much in the way of activities, and that's because, Strong Museum's Andrew Borman said, Volition made it in a couple of weeks to pitch to the rights-holders. You can see images of the game at GamesRadar.
Borman said executives from the game developer and publisher attended a pitch meeting in which at least some of the top bosses "came dressed in robes and had owls with them" in an apparent bid to help win the rights.
Volition's pitch was not successful, and Electronic Arts ultimately won the Harry Potter gaming rights, releasing numerous movie tie-ins over the years.
The newest Harry Potter game is Hogwarts Legacy, which launched in 2023 to great success. It was the year's best-selling game overall, even outselling the new Call of Duty game that year. 2024's Quidditch Champions game was less successful, and a Hogwarts Legacy sequel is now on the way.
The Harry Potter universe was created by author J.K. Rowling, who remains involved in the franchise. As such, her comments on the trans community continue to hang over the magical series.
Source