'Hogwarts Legacy' will hit Xbox, PlayStation and PC this holiday season

Hogwarts Legacy will arrive on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles in holiday 2022. And that's not all — during today's State of Play livestream dedicated to the open-world RPG, WB Games Avalanche dropped a trailer offering the first real look at how this sucker will look and play.

Hogwarts Legacy is a spinoff of the Harry Potter universe, but it takes place long before the events of the books. It's set in the 1800s, and places players in their fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where they'll learn spells, brew potions, grow magical plants, tame wild beasts and attend classes. Players have a unique ability to manipulate ancient magic, and with that, they hold the key to saving the wizarding world from dark forces. 

As familiar as that sounds, this is a game filled with original storylines and Harry Potter author JK Rowling (She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) isn't directly involved in its development. Hogwarts Legacy features fresh professors, students, villains, mentors and creatures, plus some familiar ghosts. Players will be able to fly on broomsticks, gain friends who will join them on quests and upgrade their abilities based on how they like to play. It's not all contained to Hogwarts, either. The shops at Hogsmeade are also available to explore.

Hogwarts Legacy was announced in late 2020 and it was originally due to come out in 2021, but it was later delayed to 2022. 

"Creating the best possible experience for all of the Wizarding World and gaming fans is paramount to us, so we are giving the game the time it needs," Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment said at the time.