Unveiling Hogwarts Legacy's Unprecedented Success Among AAA Releases

2023 has been an exceptional year for gaming thus far, and with half the year still to come, it has the potential to become one of the greatest gaming years ever. Fans have been treated to faithful remakes of beloved classics, sequels to timeless favorites, thrilling new Indie experiences, and remarkable new IPs. This is truly a golden age for gaming enthusiasts. However, amidst the flood of new releases this year, one game has definitely made a significant impact - Hogwarts Legacy.

Debuting in February, Hogwarts Legacy is the highly anticipated first-ever open-world RPG set in the Harry Potter universe. Despite the franchise creator's controversial comments, the game has managed to achieve immense success. As of May, Hogwarts Legacy has become the top-selling game of the year, surpassing 15 million copies sold and generating at least $1 billion in revenue. Its unprecedented triumph has taken the gaming industry by surprise. Yet, Hogwarts Legacy is not the only blockbuster AAA title to achieve impressive numbers in 2023.

How Hogwarts Legacy's Sales Compare to Other AAA 2023 Releases

In 2023, the highly anticipated AAA video game Forspoken proved to be a disappointment, with Square Enix labeling it a failure due to "lacklustre" sales that jeopardized the company's financial plans. However, amidst this disappointment, the Dead Space Remake launched in January 2023 and became a best-seller in the UK, although official sales numbers haven't been released.

Then, in February, Hogwarts Legacy emerged and has since dominated the sales charts. Within just two weeks of its release, the game sold over 12 million copies and generated more than $850 million in revenue, solely from its initial launch on next-gen consoles and PC platforms. Following suit, Resident Evil 4 Remake stole the spotlight in March, selling 4 million copies within its first two weeks and becoming the franchise's second fastest-selling game.

In April, Dead Island 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor were both released. Surprisingly, despite its troubled development history, Dead Island 2 sold exceptionally well. Within its first month, it shipped 2 million copies, marking it as Deep Silver's biggest launch to date. Similarly, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor also performed impressively, becoming the top-selling game in April, even though it was only available for two days during that month. It is estimated that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor outsold Fallen Order by 30%, despite having lower physical copy sales.

Moving on to May, Hogwarts Legacy had another opportunity to generate significant revenue as it debuted on Xbox One and PS4. On its release day, Warner Bros. shared statistics that highlighted the game's success, with a total revenue of $1 billion. However, this amount does not include any additional sales on PS4 or Xbox One. Nevertheless, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom poses a potential threat to Hogwarts Legacy's dominance this year. Tears of the Kingdom achieved an astonishing milestone by selling 10 million copies within just three days, making it the fastest-selling Nintendo game ever. While there are no official figures available, Tears of the Kingdom remains in competition with Hogwarts Legacy for the top spot in the monthly charts.

In comparison, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which was also released in May, only managed to sell 10,000 copies within its initial release window. However, it's important to note that the year is still far from over. In June, several strong contenders entered the market. Street Fighter 6 has already exceeded 2 million copies sold, Final Fantasy 16 has reached a milestone of 3 million copies, and Diablo 4 has achieved an incredible total of over 9.5 million copies sold. There is still ample time for these sales to continue growing.

Hogwarts Legacy is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A release for the Nintendo Switch is also scheduled for November 14, 2023.