Hogwarts Legacy is a smash hit. But, with it’s graphical fidelity, huge world, excellent animations, and myriad particle effects, it is hard to deny that it is a demanding game, requiring powerful hardware to run acceptably. Which might be why, for the second time, its release on last-generation consoles (Xbox One and PlayStation 4) has been once again delayed, all the way to May 5th.
This was announced on the Hogwarts Legacy official Twitter account and Discord server with the message “We’re overwhelmed with gratitude for the response to Hogwarts Legacy from fans around the globe. The team is working hard to deliver the best possible experience on all platforms and we need more time to do this. Hogwarts Legacy will launch for PS4 and Xbox One May 5, 2023.”
This adds an extra month onto the previous release date of April 4th, and makes it so that the game is not going to arrive on those older consoles until three months after its initial release on Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and PC. This still means it will be coming out ahead of the Switch port, which isn’t due out until July 25.
Naturally, this delay has resulted in many upset consumers — quite a few of whom are still using those last-generation consoles since the shortage of current-gen consoles is only just beginning to wane. Already having been denied the early-access period that Digital Deluxe buyers were meant to be entitled to, people playing on older consoles now need to wait an additional month before finally being able to play what is already being considered by many to be a Game of the Year contender.
This has also sparked fresh discussion as to whether Hogwarts Legacy should come to PS4 and Xbox One (much less the Nintendo Switch), anyway. Given the requirements to run the game, it seems an almost Herculean task to make it run acceptably on those old consoles, with some fans pointing out that it eats away from development time that could otherwise be spent improving the game or creating more content for it.
Regardless of ire, though, the ports are still on their way, despite the delay. Hogwarts Legacy, already out on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Playstation 5, will be available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on May 5th (assuming there are no more delays).
