2023 has been a massive year for video games, and in particular, those that belong to major entertainment franchises. There have been a surprising number oflicensed video games this year, withStar Wars Jedi: Survivorprobably being one of the most talked-about games of the entire year. Somehow, evenStar Warspales in comparison toHogwarts Legacy, a title that has managed to remain the best-selling game of 2023 despite some extreme competition and copious amounts of controversy.
ButHogwarts LegacyandStar Wars Jedi: Survivorhaven’t been the only games based on popular IP this year. Scraping in just at the last second,Avatar: Frontiers of Pandorarecently hit store shelves, and it’s a pretty solid game, especially for avid fans ofJames Cameron’sAvataruniverse.Avatar: Frontiers of Pandoradoesn’t share too many gameplay similarities withHogwarts Legacy, but there are a few big factors that have ended up landing the two in the same boat.
Hogwarts Legacy and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Are in the Same Boat
Hogwarts Legacy and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Sequels Seem Likely
From the momentHogwarts Legacyreleased back in February, it’s been the best-selling game of the year, and that hasn’t changed. Within just two weeks,Hogwarts Legacyhad sold 12 million copies. With the release of the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game,Hogwarts Legacysold over 15 million copies. Even now, afterZelda,Star Wars,Final Fantasy, and most importantly,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,Hogwarts Legacyhas still held onto its top sales position, which is extremely rare.
WhileAvatar: Frontiers of Pandorahas not been nearly as successful, it is still doing fairly well, at least according to the UK physical sales charts. According to GfK’s statistics,Avatar: Frontiers of Pandoradebuted at the number five spot on theUK’s sales charts, which is pretty respectable. Of course, this doesn’t factor in the game’s digital sales or its performance in any other world regio, but it’s a solid start, and it seems likely that it’ll make Ubisoft a nice profit when all is said and done.
Hogwarts Legacy and Avatar’s Sequels Have Clear Areas for Improvement
WithHogwarts Legacybeing such an unprecedented success andAvatar: Frontiers of Pandoralikely doing quite well, sequels for both games seem very likely at this point. But this is whereHogwarts LegacyandAvatar: Frontiers of Pandoraare really in the same boat. Though both games had a fairly solid critical reception, they were far from perfect, and any potential sequels for either franchise would need to go above and beyond to try and improve on those areas.
ForHogwarts Legacy, the game’s RPG mechanics are what probably need the most work for a sequel, with new gear types, new quest types, more of an emphasis on the school and student aspects of the series, and more companion-related mechanics all being highly-requested features. ForAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora, the biggest points of criticism were that the game leaned too heavily on the same-old Ubisoft open-world formula fans have seen for a decade and that the game’s story mostly felt like a retelling ofthe firstAvatarmovie. It’s imperative that if sequels do happen for these games, then they need to improve in these primary areas, or they could just end up feeling like cheap cash grabs.
Hogwarts Legacy
WHERE TO PLAY
Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. For the first time, experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it.Explore an Open WorldThe wizarding world awaits you. Freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area.Be the Witch or Wizard You Want to beLearn spells, brew potions, grow plants, and tend to magical beasts along your journey. Get sorted into your house, forge relationships, and master skills to become the witch or wizard you want to be Experience a New Wizarding World AdventureExperience the wizarding world in an unexplored era to uncover a hidden truth from its past. Battle against trolls, Dark Wizards, goblins, and more as you face a dangerous villain threatening the fate of the wizarding world.
