Hogwarts Legacy sells 12 million copies within two weeks of launch

(Image Courtesy: Warner Bros. Games)

Warner Bros Games has announced that Hogwarts Legacy has sold 12 million copies in the first two weeks since launch.

This makes it the biggest global launch for the publisher, with the game earning $850 million in revenue from sales on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.

As Variety reports, the game is based on the Harry Potter franchise by JK Rowling, and also set a record on the streaming platform Twitch, with 1.28 million peak concurrent views at launch.

Also Read | 25 years of Harry Potter: JK Rowling recalls seeing ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ in book shop for the first time.

The game also had phenomenal numbers when it came to player engagement with more than 267 million hours played from February 10 to February 21.

Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company to the games division, said that there was, “an increase of global franchise fan engagement overall with Wizarding World Digital garnering 300 percent higher traffic over the normal monthly unique visitor average for the first 10 days of February”.

The game was hit by controversy before release due to franchise creator, JK Rowling’s views on trans-activism and her opposition to the gender-recognition legislation.

Many have called her views, “transphobic” and film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who starred in the Harry Potter movies have distanced themselves from Rowling’s beliefs.

Also Read : 'JK Rowling like an auntie': Harry Potter star says doesn't agree with all her views

The game was also subject to various boycott movements by groups, who feared that the sales would contribute to Rowling's growing wealth, and would in turn bolster her anti-trans causes.

Warner Bros was forced to make a statement where they made it clear that Rowling, “was not involved in the creation of the game,” but they had collaborated, “closely with her team on all aspects of the game to ensure it remains in line with the magical experiences fans expect”.