Why Magical Multiplayer Was Dropped from Development + How to Play with Your Friends Anyway
Why Magical Multiplayer Was Dropped from Development + How to Play with Your Friends Anyway
Main image courtesy HogWarp.
When Hogwarts Legacy was first announced in September 2020, there was a lot of excitement about the possibility of an immersive Wizarding universe that allowed you to experience the Harry Potter universe alongside other players. After all, friendship is a key ingredient in the books, and Avalanche was very clear about wanting to capture the feel of the stories while providing expanded opportunities to explore the world.
Personally, it was one of the features of the game I was looking forward to the most!
But when the game rolled out in 2023 (with staggered releases for different consoles from February-November of that year), multiplayer was nowhere to be found. Not in the story, not in the DLC, nowhere.
Today we’re taking a look at the question – is Hogwarts Legacy multiplayer? – from every angle:
According to the developers over at Avalanche in an FAQ about the game:
Q: Does Hogwarts Legacy have online or co-op gameplay?
A: Hogwarts Legacy is a single-player experience and does not have online or co-op gameplay.
Which seems to make the stance on the issue pretty clear. From a game design perspective, they really wanted to focus on the solo experience. But why would they make the choice to nix multiplayer capabilities when so many of us wanted to see it come to life?
The most straightforward answer is simply due to the complexity of the game. Coordinating multiplayer in an open world RPG of this size and scope is no easy task, and it would have taken resources away from developing other features, like the game mechanics, character animation, and open world storylines – some of the very features that earned Hogwarts Legacy award nominations from Hardcore Gamer, IGN, BAFTA, British GQ, Steam, and several others.
But other theories have surfaced as well: some Potterheads have pointed to the announcement of a new multiplayer Quidditch game as part of the reason multiplayer doesn't appear.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreirer reported in early 2025 that Hogwarts Legacy 2 is seemingly confirmed. After several new WB games (Including the aforementioned Quidditch All Stars) flopped, they’re dialing it back to a couple of IPs that they know will be successful… and based on the resounding success of the original Hogwarts Legacy, it’s a no-brainer that’s the direction they’ll go. In fact, Shreier confirmed:
“[Avalanche] is now working on new content for Hogwarts Legacy, as well as a sequel.”
Fans are divided on whether or not multiplayer would make a good addition at this point in the franchise. In a recent discussion on the r/hogwartslegacyJKR subreddit, users weighed in:
“The last co-op game published by WB is dead, i understand the want for it but in this era of gaming with a publishing studio like WB trust me YOU DON’T WANT THAT” – Significant-Tax7555
“There's a billion co-op games filled to the brim with toxicity and micro-transactions. We need more single player stories. HL is perfect for that.” –497864
“In my vision, a friend or family member could drop into your game as another student and experience the story together. You’d both attend classes, explore the castle, complete quests, tackle challenges, and even duel each other for fun. This would be more about sharing the magical journey with someone close rather than turning it into a massive, crowded online world.I think a co-op mode like this could enhance the game without losing the personal, immersive feel that makes Hogwarts Legacy so special. It would allow us to enjoy the wizarding world together, making memories and sharing the magic with those we care about.” – TheThinkingJacob
Ultimately though, we’re still waiting to find out for sure what the next installment will look like.
Despite some controversy about features like multiplayer and author JK Rowling, Hogwarts Legacy was a resounding success. Critics lauded the game as being faithful to the lore of the stories so many people grew up with. The quests, puzzles, and straightforward yet cohesive gameplay also garnered positive attention.
Hogwarts Legacy topped sales charts in the US and UK, selling more than 12 million copies and generating over $850 million in sales in the first two weeks after being released on its first round of systems. By the end of October 2023, the game had sold over 30 million copies – making Hogwarts Legacy one of the best-selling video games of all time.
Despite some misleading articles from major gaming platforms talking about a Hogwarts Legacy multiplayer update, as of this writing the official game has not released an update with multiplayer support, or even announced that it’s on the docket. But at this point, with rumors about Hogwarts Legacy 2’s Multiplayer possibilities swirling, it seems unlikely an official multiplayer release is coming for the OG game at all.
That doesn’t mean you can’t make your magic multiplayer, though.
Developed by fans, Hogwarp is a mod for Hogwarts Legacy that allows players to enjoy multiplayer and online co-op experiences in the Wizarding World. You can find the official mod in two places:
🪄 Visit the Official HogWarp website
🪄 Visit the HogWarp page on Nexus Mods
The framework is basic – the goal of Hogwarp is to provide a stable baseline for players to exist in the Hogwarts Legacy world. However, it doesn’t include changes to make story elements like classes and quests include more than one player. You can run these challenges at the same time, allowing you to experience them together. However it isn’t a perfect experience.
Companion mods obviously won’t let you and one of your real life friends play along in the game together, but they can make the Hogwarts Legacy experience a little more social. Several portions of the vanilla game involve working with an NPC like Poppy Sweeting, Natasa Onai, or Sebastian Sallow to complete objectives – and it can be pretty useful to have them around!
They have dialogue about the task ahead, cast spells like lumos and disillusionment when you do, and can help back you up in a fight.
If you’re interested in expanding the game’s companion capabilities, there are a few different mods that can help you do that.
🔮 Anytime Companion is a simple mod that allows you to choose from dozens of NPCs – like your fellow students, professors, and other characters – to spawn them whenever you want.
🔮 Companion Mod works great in conjunction with Anytime Companion. It helps rebalance some things for a better overall gameplay experience, making it easier to take companions along with you on your adventures.
From there, you can fine-tune your experience with additional companion mods like:
🔮 Companions Use Unforgivables, which as the name implies, lets companions cast unforgivable curses during battles.
🔮 Hogwarts Legacy Enhanced - Target + Improve Every Character, which provides a bunch of improvements. It gives every character (including companions) their own stats like HP and damage, makes it so students/townspeople/etc won’t stay idle in fights but get in on the action if they’re nearby, and allows allows the risk that companions die in battle (don’t worry, they can respawn though).
With options like the HogWarp mod and Companion Mods, there are ways to make the Hogwarts Legacy experience more collaborative. However if you’re looking for a true multiplayer experience, we’ll be right there with ya waiting for updates from WB and Avalanche on new content for Hogwarts Legacy as well as forthcoming information on Hogwarts Legacy 2.
Until then… mischief managed ✨
