The upcoming Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions aims to bring the wizarding sport to life through video games on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC on September 3. But moving the sport to a different medium has changed some of the rules.
I love the Harry Potter books, but when I finished them a few years ago, I realized that scoring in Quidditch makes no sense. Scoring a regular goal with the Quaffle is worth 10 points, but catching the Gold Snitch is worth 150 points and the game ends immediately. In other words, the team that catches the Snitch almost always wins. In fact, a team can score 14 goals in a row against the other team and still lose if the Seeker accidentally catches the Snitch. There have been instances where they’ve pulled out a Potter and almost swallowed it.
So, for the upcoming game, a new gameplay trailer has revealed some major changes to the rules. First, catching the Snitch no longer ends the game. Second, it’s now only worth 30 points. These two changes will hopefully ensure that catching the Snitch is important, but it doesn’t guarantee victory. The first team to reach 100 points wins.
However, it is unclear whether the Snitch can be caught more than once. If it can only be caught once, what will the Seeker do for the rest of the game?
The rest of the trailer mentions very early on that Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions doesn’t feature any microtransactions at all, which is a bit sad that we now live in a world where that’s become a selling point, rather than something you might expect.
The rest of the trailer details what else you can expect from the game, including a single-player campaign that starts with you playing through the Weasleys’ backyard with the help of some very familiar faces. You’ll level up your character, choose from a variety of customization options, and more.
Finally, the trailer asks fans to keep an eye out for future seasons and events, hinting that there may be a season pass or something similar, though there will be no microtransactions.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions launches on September 3rd, and if you add it to your library, it’s free with a PlayStation Plus subscription until September 30th.
