Hogwarts Legacy has one of Steam’s biggest Early Access launches

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Hogwarts Legacy had one of the largest Early Access releases in Steam history for a paid, single-player game.

As spotted by VGC, analyst Benji-Sales tweeted that Avalanche Software’s wizarding RPG has already hit an all-time high of 474,144 concurrent players, which has since grown by over 15,000 to 489,139.

Benji-Sales noted that the pre-launch number represents the second-highest player peak for any paid, single-player game in the history of the Steam platform according to SteamDB.

The success pushed Fallout 4’s concurrent player record of 472,962 into third place, with Hogwarts Legacy now trailing only Cyberpunk 2077, which despite its rocky launch managed to achieve a staggering 1,054,388 concurrent players.

The early access period comes before the full release of Hogwarts Legacy on February 10th, and thus only takes into account players who gained early access by ordering the Deluxe Edition of the open-world RPG.

His performance comes as proof that the excitement around the game has been building for a long time, perhaps further increased after the positive critical reception of Hogwarts Legacy.

Its development has not been without controversy, however, as Harry Potter author JK Rowling has come under fire for her anti-transgender views, with some fans threatening to boycott the game in the face of the controversy.

However, the game’s director, Alan True, recently revealed his inclusive approach to the game’s development and audience, while a transgender character appears in Hogwarts Legacy.

“We know our fans have fallen in love with the Wizarding World, and we think they’ve fallen in love with it for the right reasons,” Trew said. “We know that the audience is different. For us, it’s about making sure that the audience, who have always dreamed of having this game, had the opportunity to feel welcome. That they have a home here and that it’s a good place to tell the story their”.

In IGN’s 9/10 review we said that Hogwarts Legacy is able to capture “all the excitement and wonder of the Wizarding World” while offering “unforgettable new characters, challenging and subtle combat, and a beautifully executed Hogwarts student fantasy.”

Anthony is a freelance contributor who covers science news and video games for IGN. He has over eight years of experience covering important developments in multiple scientific fields and has no time for your bullshit. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

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