Portkey Games, Warner Bros.’ label dedicated to the release of games specifically from the Harry Potter Universe, has announced a new, upcoming narrative RPG set in the Wizarding World. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery will allow players to virtually experience Hogwarts as students, creating their own characters, attending classes, and “progressing through their years” at the wizarding institution.
Warner Bros. and its label have previously revealed a Pokémon Go-like augmented reality game titled Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. During Hogwarts Mystery’s recent announcement, the game’s developer Jam City took some time to differentiate the two from each other and from previous HP games. “We are very familiar with the action gaming approach that EA took in the past,” Josh Yguado, Jam City’s president and chief operating officer at said in a statement. “This is much more story-driven and RPG-like. It is not a twitch game. We wanted to explore the player motivation, and really feeling like you are a student.” Yguado clarified that Hogwarts Mystery “will be very different from Niantic’s upcoming Harry Potter location-based mobile game.”
Jam City’s statement also revealed that the game will take place slightly before the events of the books. “We are writing stories that fit squarely in the world but take it in new directions,” Yguado added. “It’s something fresh for the fans, taking place in the mid-1980s after the Wizarding Wars.”
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is coming in 2018 for iOS and Android mobile devices. You can pre-register on the Hogwarts Mystery website here.