Warner Bros. Games has confirmed that Hogwarts Legacy will be Steam Deck Verified when it launches next month.
Set for release February 10, Hogwarts Legacy will be “wholly supported” by the Steam Deck after the Harry Potter game met a strict set of criteria created by Valve to earn the “Verified” title.
Replying to a fan on Twitter, Warner Bros wrote: “We reached out to the Hogwarts Legacy team for you and were able to confirm that the game will be Steam Deck verified on launch. We hope this helps with your decision! Take care.”
Hello again, David! We reached out to the Hogwarts Legacy team for you and were able to confirm that the game WILL be Steam Deck verified on launch. We hope this helps with your decision! Take care.
— WB Games Support (@WBGamesSupport) January 12, 2023
Last week, the PC requirements for Hogwarts Legacy were announced and shortly afterwards, an updated listing on the Steam page confirmed the game will include controversial anti-piracy software Denuvo.
Denuvo is a digital rights management (DRM) solution, with its anti-tamper software encrypting game files and requiring occasional online verification. While this means players must remain online at all times, it makes the games harder to pirate or crack.
However, it’s been reported that Denuvo causes performance issues, with a host of games removing the software in post-launch updates.
The controversial Harry Potter game is set to launch February 10 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. A Playstation 4 and Xbox One version will follow on April 4, while Nintendo Switch players have to wait until July 25.
However, many players are boycotting the game in protest of Harry Potter author J.K Rowling’s repeated anti-trans comments.
The lead actors of Harry Potter (Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson) were amongst those that condemned her views.
More recently, Heartstopper star Sebastian Croft has addressed his role in Hogwarts Legacy following backlash after it was announced he would be voicing one of the two playable avatars.
“I was cast in this project over 3 years ago, back when all Harry Potter was to me, was the magical world I grew up with. This was long before I was aware of JK Rowling’s views,” Croft wrote on Twitter.
“I believe wholeheartedly that trans women are women and trans men are men,” he continued. “I know far more now than I did 3 years ago, and hope to learn far more in the next 3. I’m really sorry to anyone hurt by this announcement. There is no LGB without the T.”
According to the FAQs, Hogwarts Legacy has not been written by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, though it does stay true to her “original vision”.
The president of Warner Bros. Games went on to say: “While J.K. Rowling is the creator of Harry Potter, and we are bringing that world to life with the power of Portkey, in many places, she’s a private citizen also. And that means she’s entitled to express her personal opinion on social media. I may not agree with her, and I might not agree with her stance on a range of topics, but I can agree she has the right to hold her opinions.”
In other news, the 2023 State Of The Game Industry survey has been released, with an overwhelming majority of people surveyed saying that player harassment of developers is a “serious” issue.
