Hogwarts Legacy Announces Delay for Last-Gen Consoles

In an unfortunate turn of events for those who were excited to play Hogwarts Legacy on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or Nintendo Switch, the game has been delayed for those versions. This delay, which does not impact the February 10th release date for Xbox Series X, Playstation 5, or PC, sees the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game delayed to April 4th, nearly two months after the current-generation release. Switch owners will have to wait even longer, as the Switch version of the game has been delayed until July 25th, nearly half a year after the initial release (though, perhaps, Switch owners are used to that).

Hogwarts Legacy will launch on April 4, 2023 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and on July 25, 2023 for Nintendo Switch. The team is looking forward to bringing you the game and we want to deliver the best possible game experience across all platforms.
— Hogwarts Legacy (@HogwartsLegacy) December 13, 2022

The news was delivered via Tweet from the official Hogwarts Legacy account, and as an announcement on their official Discord. Both sources also linked the updated FAQ for the game, which goes into more detail, especially about the Deluxe-Edition-exclusive “Early Access,” which was promoted heavily with no indications given as to edition exclusivity.

The “Early Access” bonus was meant to allow players to start playing Hogwarts Legacy 72 hours early, effectively making the release date for Deluxe Edition February 7th. The FAQ clarifies that, while this will still be honored on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, the last-generation game versions will release simultaneously, without early access. It is unclear what this means for players who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition on the older consoles with the expectation of early access, or if anything will be offered as a consolation for those players. I wouldn’t hold my breath for that, though.

digital deluxe hogwarts legacy promo — *Promotional material from before the announcement does not mention any edition exclusivity for the “72 Hours Early Access”*

What do you think? Are these delays and consequent removal of Early Access for affected editions a good sign that the team is working as hard as possible to get the “best possible game experience across all consoles”, as they promise, or is this foreboding (and somewhat frustrating) news? Is this a sign that games ought to move away from older systems in order to focus resources on newer, more capable machines? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.