Hogwarts Legacy 2 Could Have Competition in the Realm of Video Games You Wish Existed as a Kid

There are some games players like me spend years, even decades, wishing existed before anyone actually makes them, and Hogwarts Legacy was one of those games. Exploring Hogwarts and casting spells was fun, but it was more about finally getting to live in that world in a way the Harry Potter movies and books never allowed, and that’s exactly what made it hit many of us as hard as it did. But that also means Hogwarts Legacy 2 can’t rely on the same moment, because that moment has already happened.

What’s more is that it may not even be the only game trying to deliver on that kind of idea anymore either. Rumors that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 developer Warhorse Studios is working on an open-world Lord of the Rings RPG matter for a reason, since Warhorse has already proven it can build immersive worlds that are believable, not solely on account of how they look, but because of how alive they feel. If that same approach now gets applied to Middle-earth, then Hogwarts Legacy 2 could end up sharing space with another game built around a fantasy players have been waiting just as long to experience.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Has an Impossible Decision to Make Now

Hogwarts Legacy was a massive hit, but with the Harry Potter license continuing to evolve, its sequel might have a difficult choice ahead of it.

Hogwarts Legacy Was the Ultimate Payoff for a Generational Fantasy

Hogwarts Legacy may only be a few years old now, but the feeling it gave me when I first set foot in the halls of Hogwarts feels like something that happened so long ago, simply because it’s one of those things I wish I could go back and feel again for the first time. Generally, that kind of sentiment is associated with older experiences—like the background music for Super Mario 64‘s Dire Dire Docks or the original PlayStation’s logo animation screen. However, that ultimately says something about how Hogwarts Legacy was a long time coming when it arrived, as it finally gave form to something I and many other players had been carrying around for years without ever expecting it to become real in the way that it did. Essentially, it feels nostalgic now because the desire for it goes back decades.

Hogwarts Legacy is a gaming experience that many of us dreamed about when we were kids, as simply watching Harry Potter on the big screen or reading the books, while fulfilling, still wasn’t enough. A major part of the Wizarding World’s appeal has always been the thought of actually living in that world, and although the films and books took us there in their own ways, we still wanted a more hands-on experience with it. It’s why Universal Studios dedicated a portion of its space to recreating the world of Harry Potter, and it’s why some of the IP’s most devoted fans love to roleplay as student witches and wizards from Hogwarts.

[Hogwarts Legacy] feels nostalgic now because the desire for it goes back decades.

What Hogwarts Legacy did that those other experiences haven’t been able to do, though, is it put that fantasy directly into our hands and let us shape it for ourselves. More than simply seeing Hogwarts or walking through a recreation of it, Hogwarts Legacy made it feel like we actually existed there as students—choosing our house, learning various spells, and ultimately deciding what kind of student we wanted to be. That kind of hands-on agency is what bridges the gap between imagination and experience, and it’s something no film, book, or theme park can fully replicate.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Can No Longer Rely on Fantasy Alone

Now, Avalanche Software aims to capitalize on that generational fantasy once more with Hogwarts Legacy 2, and there’s an expectation that it won’t merely revisit that feeling but expand on it in ways the first game only hinted at or perhaps wasn’t capable of achieving. Once players have already experienced what it’s like to step into Hogwarts for the first time, the sequel has to go further, with more freedom, deeper role-playing, and a stronger sense that the world actually responds to the player’s actions. That’s a much different challenge than simply delivering the fantasy for the first time, but it’s also an opportunity to turn that one-time payoff into something more lasting.

But apart from the internal challenges Hogwarts Legacy 2 is already facing, there are potential external forces that could diminish the benchmark set by its predecessor of “games you wish existed as a kid.” Rumors that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 developer Warhorse Studios is working on an open-world Lord of the Rings RPG, should they prove true, could position it as the next major payoff for a different generation of fantasy fans who have been waiting just as long for their moment.

A Modern Lord of the Rings RPG Would Basically Be the Next Hogwarts Legacy

For as long as fantasy fans like me have been imagining ourselves in Hogwarts, there has been an equally persistent desire to step into Middle-earth in the same way. Watching The Lord of the Rings or reading Tolkien’s books has always inspired the same thought of what it would be like to exist in that world. Games set in Middle-earth—like Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War, and the original Lord of the Rings movie games based on The Two Towers and The Return of the King—have come close over the years, but something has been lacking in the fantasies they offer: the same sense of ownership over the experience that Hogwarts Legacy offered.

A handful of Lord of the Rings games have featured strong combat systems, memorable moments from the books and films, and even unique ideas like Shadow of Mordor‘s Nemesis system, but they’ve almost always forced players into the role of a specific character. Now, that works for what those games were trying to do, but it stops short of fulfilling the deeper fantasy of what it would feel like to be your own person and have your own place in Middle-earth rather than reliving someone else’s journey.

If an open-world Lord of the Rings RPG were to follow a similar approach to Hogwarts Legacy, giving players the freedom to decide who they are in Middle-earth and how they could overcome its challenges, it would potentially tap into the same magic that the Harry Potter action RPG effortlessly cast onto players like me in 2023.

For as long as fantasy fans like me have been imagining ourselves in Hogwarts, there has been an equally persistent desire to step into Middle-earth in the same way.

Walking through the Shire, traveling across vast, beautiful, and occasionally deadly landscapes, and interacting with a version of Middle-earth that actually responds to me would make it feel like I’ve finally stepped into the world I’ve only seen and read about before. I’d say that The Lord of the Rings Online is probably the closest I’ve come to feeling that, but being an MMO, it still felt too gamey, less immersive, and less “fantasy come to life” than a game like Hogwarts Legacy. But if it finally made Middle-earth feel like a world you can put hands on and leave fingerprints there, Hogwarts Legacy 2 could have some real competition.

In the end, Hogwarts Legacy didn’t hit the way it did just because it was a good RPG but because it finally answered a question I and many other players had been asking for years. The difference now is that it can no longer rely solely on the fantasy of attending Hogwarts, as that has already been accomplished. Furthermore, it’s no longer the only game capable of bringing childhood dreams to life in a big way. If something like the rumored open-world Lord of the Rings RPG ends up delivering on that same kind of fantasy, then Hogwarts Legacy 2 and its predecessor will have some serious competition in the arena of “games you wish existed as a kid.”