Hogwarts Legacy
Documents about Hogwarts Legacy
UK Video Game Market Q1 2023
The UK video game market experienced growth during the first quarter of 2023, primarily driven by strong hardware sales and the successful launch of major software titles.
- The UK gaming market saw a 1% increase in game sales (physical and digital) in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022, selling just under eight million games, largely driven by Hogwarts Legacy and PlayStation 5.
- Hogwarts Legacy was a significant driver of software sales, becoming the fastest-selling UK video game outside of FIFA and Call of Duty since Red Dead Redemption 2, and has already outsold LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Elden Ring.
- Console sales in the UK increased by 23% in March 2023 compared to March 2022, with 138,000 units sold, although sales dipped 3% from February 2023.
Plus: Resident Evil 4 Takes Off Like a Rocket
This analysis examines the commercial performance of recent video game releases and forecasts upcoming market trends for the final week of March 2023.
- The Resident Evil 4 remake set a new franchise record on Steam with 140,000 peak concurrent users, significantly outperforming Resident Evil Village’s 107,000 peak.
- Projections estimate that the Resident Evil 4 remake will achieve between 3 and 4 million unit sales on Steam during its first week of release.
- The PC port of The Last of Us Part I is the most anticipated upcoming release, entering the market with 105,000 Steam followers.
Plus: Yep, Contraband Police Actually Got It Right
This analysis evaluates the commercial performance of recent video game releases across Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch for the second week of March 2023.
- Contraband Police achieved a successful launch with over 7,000 concurrent users, driven by a strong mechanical hook and an iterative development process that utilized a public prologue.
- The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition faced negative reception and poor performance on PC due to significant technical issues, highlighting the impact of polish on commercial success.
- Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse performed well in its Western debut, contrasting with the mixed results seen across other high-profile remasters during the second week of March 2023.
Ads of February 2023
The February 2023 landscape for live streaming brand activations was defined by high-impact partnerships between major publishers and prominent content creators.
- PlayStation's partnership with streamer IlloJuan to promote PlayStation Plus news generated 346K hours watched and a peak viewership of 57.9K.
- Warner Bros. Games promoted the launch of Hogwarts Legacy through streamer alanzoka, achieving 316K hours watched and 55.7K peak viewers.
- The launch campaign for the game Atomic Heart, led by 4Divinity/Focus Entertainment and streamer IlloJuan, reached 294K hours watched and a 60K peak viewership, contributing to the game's 12 million hours watched during its release week.
Krafton Targets India / Ramifications of Hogwarts Legacy’s Success / Unity Earnings
The global gaming industry is currently defined by a stark divergence between companies successfully leveraging intellectual property and those struggling with structural or transparency issues. Warner Bros.
- Warner Bros. Games' Hogwarts Legacy generated $850 million in revenue within its first two weeks, validating a strategy of high-quality, multi-platform IP development.
- Warner Bros. Discovery is increasingly integrating gaming as a core pillar of its broader media ecosystem to create synergy between its gaming and streaming divisions.
- Unity is facing analyst scrutiny regarding its post-merger transparency with ironSource, specifically concerning declining high-value customer counts and misleading profitability metrics.
Top 10 Games in Live Streaming 2023
The live streaming landscape in early 2023 demonstrated significant volatility driven by major game releases and substantial content updates.
- Hogwarts Legacy set an all-time Twitch record for a single-player game on February 7, 2023, reaching 1.3 million peak concurrent viewers.
- Hogwarts Legacy generated 90 million hours watched in February 2023, following its official release on February 10.
- Escape from Tarkov experienced a significant resurgence in January 2023, ranking third among all games with 120 million hours watched.
Hogwarts Legacy: Largest European Release of the Last 6 Years
Hogwarts Legacy achieved the sixth-largest video game launch in Europe since 2017, establishing itself as the fastest-selling title in the region for a generation, excluding the annual FIFA franchise.
- Hogwarts Legacy had the sixth biggest launch for a video game in Europe since charts began six years ago, surpassing all Call of Duty titles released since 2017, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Elden Ring.
- Despite Hogwarts Legacy's success, overall game sales in Europe for February were down 10% compared to the previous year, with 12.9 million games sold, primarily due to fewer new releases.
- PlayStation 5 sales in Europe increased five-fold over February last year due to improved stock availability, making it the best-selling console in tracked markets, while Xbox Series S/X sales rose by 13%.
Video Game Streaming Trends Report: Q1 2023
The live-streaming market experienced a cooling period in the first quarter of 2023, with combined viewership across major platforms decreasing by 16% compared to the previous year.
- Total live-streaming viewership declined 16% year-over-year in Q1 2023, though total hours watched remain 46% higher than Q1 2020 levels.
- Twitch and YouTube Live Gaming consolidated their market dominance to a combined 89% share, while Facebook Live viewership plummeted by 69%.
- Cross-media synergy is a primary growth driver, evidenced by the HBO 'The Last of Us' series triggering a 107% increase in viewership for the franchise's games.
Sons of the Forest: So Big It Broke Steam?
The late February 2023 gaming market was defined by a surge of high-performing PC debuts and the continued commercial dominance of major triple-A franchises.
- Hogwarts Legacy dominated the global market with 12 million units sold and $850 million in revenue, leading download charts across PlayStation, Xbox, and the Epic Games Store.
- Sons of the Forest achieved the year's second-largest Steam debut with 330,000 concurrent users, causing temporary storefront instability while maintaining an 88% positive rating.
- Atomic Heart and Company of Heroes 3 saw moderate PC success with 38,500 and 36,600 concurrent users respectively, though the latter faced mixed reviews due to technical issues.
Plus: Next Week Goes Big With Wild Hearts, Pharaoh, Returnal
Market analysis reveals that Hogwarts Legacy is currently the primary driver of industry performance, achieving nearly 700,000 concurrent users on Steam and dominating sales charts across PlayStation, Xbox, and the Epic Games Store.
- Hogwarts Legacy is the current market leader, reaching nearly 700,000 concurrent Steam users and projected to sell between 10 and 20 million units across all platforms.
- Koei Tecmo and EA’s Wild Hearts is positioned as the next major release, currently ranking in the top 40 grossing titles on Steam via pre-orders with over 35,000 followers.
- Sony’s PC port of Returnal is showing significant market interest with 18,000 Steam followers despite a $60 premium price point.
Earnings & Strategy Analysis for Sony, Take Two, Konami & Nintendo
The global gaming industry is currently navigating a period of significant divergence, where established intellectual property serves as the primary hedge against economic volatility and rising development costs.
- Major publishers are prioritizing established intellectual property and cinematic, blockbuster franchises over experimental titles to mitigate rising production costs and economic volatility.
- Sony continues to lead the market by leveraging premium exclusive software and transmedia integration to drive PlayStation 5 hardware adoption.
- Take-Two Interactive is balancing operational cost-cutting with a strategic expansion into the mobile sector via its Zynga acquisition while preparing for the next Grand Theft Auto release.
Hogwarts Legacy Breaks Twitch Peak Viewership Record
Hogwarts Legacy established a new benchmark for single-player game engagement on Twitch, securing the record for the highest peak concurrent viewership in the platform's history.
- Hogwarts Legacy set a new Twitch record for a single-player game, reaching 1.3 million peak concurrent viewers on its first day.
- The game surpassed previous single-player records held by Cyberpunk 2077 (1.14 million) and Elden Ring (over 900,000).
- During its first 24 hours of streaming, the title generated 13.7 million hours watched with an average minute audience of 540,000.