Hogwarts Legacy fans divided as new Harry Potter game footage appears online

Hogwarts Legacy fans are already arguing about the latest Harry Potter game after footage of an early build made its way online earlier than planned.

Anyone who's played Hogwarts Legacy will know that it's a relatively imperfect RPG. While fans seem to agree there's an awful lot the game got right, there's also been plenty of criticism levelled at missing features like Quidditch and, more importantly, the issues around series creator J.K. Rowling and her harmful views in relation to the trans community.

While Quidditch doesn't feature in Hogwarts Legacy, fans can look forward to a new game entirely focused on the fictional sport. Quidditch Champions is an all-new Harry Potter game that swaps the open-world RPG action of Hogwarts Legacy for a more focused affair.

Certain fans around the world have recently been able to get their hands on Quidditch Champions by way of an early playtest. And while some of the rules surrounding access to that playtest revolve around not sharing or uploading footage? Well, you can guess what's happened.

Quidditch Champions gameplay is officially out in the wild, and fans can't seem to agree on what they think of it. It's worth noting that Warner Bros. is taking the footage down wherever they find it, so you won't see us sharing it here, but fan reaction so far is mixed, at best.

Most notably, it appears Quidditch Champions has made some changes to the "traditional" rules of the game in favour of quicker matches. This makes sense, given that in the world of Harry Potter Quidditch matches can last for hours, days, or even weeks.

"In the video the snitch is caught 2.5 minutes before the end of the timer, and grants the winning team 30 points. This means it's heavily nerfed from the 150 points it grants in the books," one Reddit user observed.

Another added: "This is generally the kind of rule the real life club sport follows (now called Quadball). 30 points for the snitch only released after a certain amount of time in the match. That way the rest is the game still matters."

For the most part fans seem to be on board with the switch to more of a fast-paced game, while others are holding on to hopes of a more traditional take on Quidditch. A few Reddit users who claim to have played the game have even compared it to Rocket League, which is certainly a flattering title to be held up against.

Quidditch Champions is currently aiming to launch 2024 on consoles and PC. It's unknown if the game will be free-to-play, but many have speculated this is likely.