Hogwarts Legacy will miss 2022, launch in February 2023 instead

By Billy Givens Published August 12, 2022

After months of speculation, Hogwarts Legacy finally has a definitive release date of February 10, 2023. First announced during the September PlayStation 5 Showcase in 2020 with a vague 2021 release window, the game was later delayed to holiday 2022 and will now reach fans a couple of months after that.

The release date news was shared via the Hogwarts Legacy Twitter account on Friday. The team at Portkey Games has revealed that it will be taking “a little more time to deliver the best possible game experience” and that the Nintendo Switch version will arrive at an even later date.

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Hogwarts Legacy will launch on February 10, 2023 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The Nintendo Switch launch date will be revealed soon. The team is excited for you to play, but we need a little more time to deliver the best possible game experience. pic.twitter.com/zh0EsOvDb7

— Hogwarts Legacy (@HogwartsLegacy) August 12, 2022

The delay of the game, which is set in and around the titular Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, isn’t entirely surprising, though. Fans have been anticipating it for some time now due to the lack of news leading up to its December release window.

Hogwarts Legacy is at the center of an ongoing controversy regarding Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling, who has been repeatedly criticized by fans for making comments deemed as transphobic. Developer Avalanche has promised the author is “not directly involved in the creation of the game.” Despite the team’s best effort to distance itself from Rowling — and opting to include trans representation in the Hogwarts Legacy character creation process — some fans believe that the damage has already been done and have urged players to boycott the title.

It’s yet to be seen if Hogwarts Legacy is able to stick the landing despite being marred by Rowling’s controversies, but we’ll find out when it launches on February 10, 2023, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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Gaming Writer

Billy Givens is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience writing gaming, film, and tech content. He started as a…

Gaming

All Smite 2 relics and when to pick them

Key art for SMITE 2.

A lot has changed between Smite and Smite 2, but many of the original game's Relics are back in some form or another in the spruced-up sequel. These active items provide you with extremely useful abilities on long cooldowns — and when used at just the right time, they can turn the tide of an entire match. Here are all of the Relics currently available in Smite 2 alongside some use cases to give you an idea of what types of situations they might be most helpful.
Purification Beads
Purification Beads makes you CC immune for 2 seconds.

Cooldown: 150 seconds

Gaming

Smite 2 roles, explained

Key art for SMITE 2.

Smite 2 sticks to most of what made the first Smite so successful, including all of the basic gameplay mechanics and design philosophies the popular MOBA is best known for. However, this sequel has changed the way roles work, doing away with the original's class-based design in favor of a loose and flexible system that allows you to use any god in any role if you build and play them correctly. While there are still gods best suited for certain roles, the creativity this extra freedom allows can be very rewarding for new and returning players alike. Here's what you need to know about each role in Smite 2.
Solo
The Solo roster is comprised of characters designed for, well, the Solo lane. Because this is a 1v1 lane, your goal is to clear waves more quickly while also dealing as much damage to your opponent as possible. Because you need to equally be able to survive their incoming attacks, you'll generally want to focus on a Bruiser-style build, which consists of both offensive and defensive items. Counterbuilding is more important here than in nearly any other role, as you'll spend quite a lot of time engaged in a battle of attrition seeing who can force the other person out of the lane to score a few hits on a tower. Later in the game, you'll become a frontliner alongside the Support to help control the flow of teamfights.
Recommended god for newbies:
Chaac offers low cooldowns, solid lane clear, and a powerful area-of-effect ult that is easy to land and silences foes momentarily. He also has sustainability via an ability that self-heals.
Jungle
The Jungle role is among the hardest to master in Smite 2, as you'll spend your time rotating around the map and learning when you need to rush to the aid of your teammates. This is a job for those who enjoy playing as an assassin of sorts by ganking enemy players from each of the three lanes. However, it's not as easy as just being a killing machine because you'll also need to quickly and consistently farm jungle camps throughout the map while you plan to make those moves on out-of-position foes. If you aren't clearing camps (or have them stolen by the enemy Jungler), you'll fall behind in level and make things more difficult on your team. It can take quite some time to learn how to play Jungle effectively, but when you do, you can turn the tides of a match in mere moments.
Recommended god for newbies:
Thor offers an easy-to-hit stun and straightforward kit designed to deal huge damage. Additionally, his ultimate ability allows him to cover a lot of ground to catch unsuspecting opponents.
Middle
The Middle role is among the most important in a match of Conquest because the Middle lane is a central convergence spot for large team pushes. Your goal here is to clear your lane very quickly and keep your opponent pushed back to their tower as much as possible so that your team can use your lane as a way to cross back and forth to other lanes without much fear of repercussions. Winning the Middle lane can often be what leads your group to victory, as it will funnel both teams to the center of the map to engage in a large-scale battle that, if your team plays well, could result in a deicide (team wipe) for your foes. In the late-game, this is likely to give you a chance to take down their titan and wrap up the match.
Recommended god for newbies:
Kukulkan has excellent lane clearing capabilities, an attack that slows foes hit, and a very hard-hitting ultimate ability. His dash can also let him get in and out of engagements quickly.
Support
The Support role is exactly what it sounds like: supporting your team and setting them up for success. You'll begin matches in the Duo lane with your Carry, but as the match progresses and they're clearing the lane alone, you'll need to move around the map to assist others, too. Support gods tend to have abilities that lock enemies down or displace them so that your team can dish out massive damage. Depending on the god, though, you may also need to help via healing or bolstering your team with stat-boosting abilities. Your job as a Support isn't to earn the largest damage numbers at the end of a match, but you'll be every bit as important to your team's success as those who do.
Recommended god for newbies:
Khepri provides a lot of control opportunities via a stun and a grab, both of which are fairly easy to land. Plus, his ultimate ability can be used to save himself or another player from death.
Carry
The Carry role is designed to provide your team with a deadly damage dealer that can quite literally carry the team to victory in the late-game. Your goal is to begin in Duo lane with a Support and work diligently at scoring a few early kills while farming your lane. In most cases, you won't be majorly powerful in that early part of the match, but your damage will begin to ramp up rapidly after you've built 3-4 items, allowing you to spring into action in later teamfights and rapidly destroy your opponents. All of this damage will help you take down objectives quickly as well, making you a vital component of your team's strategy beginning around the 15-20 minute mark and beyond as they work hand-in-hand with you to shred through anything in your path.
Recommended god for newbies:
Cupid can provide support for himself and others via healing, has a dash for quick escapes, and can dish out solid auto-attack damage. His wide area-of-effect ultimate ability can even slow enemies down for big damage opportunities.

Gaming

2024 gaming report card: How did PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo fare?

Living room with Microsoft Xbox Series X (L) and Sony PlayStation 5 home video game consoles alongside a television and soundbar.

After a long and busy 12 months, 2024 is officially in the books. Players have a few weeks to rest before the video game release calendar picks up in February with a barrage of major releases. That's a problem for next month, though. Until then, we've still got some time to reflect on what was a rollercoaster year for the gaming industry, full of surprise hits, total flops, and surprising no shows.

At the center of all that was the three pillars of mainstream gaming: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. While their power may be waning in the age of portable PCs like the Steam Deck, these platform holders are still the watercooler conversation starters whose every move generates buzz. This year, all three companies found themselves in a strange spot. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hit the awkward midpoint of their lifespans, while the Nintendo Switch was left to tread water after its much anticipated successor was pushed out of 2024. All three would have to get creative if they were going to end the year strong.