A former EA executive has shared that EA had once considered making a Harry Potter MMO. Kim Salazar (director of product marketing from 2000-2003) said the publisher once held the game rights for the popular franchise. The topic came up when she was asked what game she most regretted never getting made during her tenure.
“We did all the research, we had the beta built out, it was a combination offline/online experience where we’d actually mail stuff to the kids, like prizes and ribbons and stuff like that.”
Fun fact: You can see evidence of this from around 2003 in the Matrix Online executable in the code to auth with SOE servers. I noticed this recently and couldn’t actually find any mention of Harry Potter Online around the internet. pic.twitter.com/yGaC49Ip3K
— Nyx! (@Nyxiva) December 23, 2021
EA decided the game wouldn’t have staying power and that it would only last around two years. The decision was further fueled by changes in the company.
“But it was killed, for lack of a better term, because EA was going through changes at that time and they just didn’t know or believe enough that the IP would have a shelf-life longer than a year or two.”
It may have been for the best considering its ongoing controversy over microtransactions and loot boxes in games aimed at minors. One could only imagine the ramifications those could have had in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Portkey Games is working on its own open-world RPG project slated for a 2022 release.
Source: The Real Brandolorian (via VGC)