EA reportedly canceled a Harry Potter MMO because they didn’t believe in IP

According to a former EA director, EA canceled a Harry Potter MMO in the early 2000s because the publisher didn’t believe in the franchise’s future.

In an interview with Twitch streamer The Real Brandolorian, EA’s former director of product marketing Kim Salzer explained that during his tenure at the company between 2000 and 2003, EA canceled what appears to be a fairly promising MMO.

“A big deal for me, because I was there so personally, and it’s such a huge IP that has survived, it’s a massively multiplayer online game for Harry Potter,” Salzer said in the interview, who was also uploaded on twitter.

According to Salzer, this Harry Potter MMO wasn’t just a few scattered ideas, as EA had a “beta built” and a lot of in-depth research into the project. Described as an “online / offline experience,” EA even has plans to send prizes, ribbons, and rewards to players, which looks perfect for the games target audience.

Although the developers of this MMO are “very confident in the success” of the game, EA ultimately killed the project. According to Salzer, this was because “EA was undergoing changes at the time and they just didn’t know or believe enough that this intellectual property would have a shelf life of more than a year or two. “

Since we decided to cancel this Harry Potter MMO project, we’ve seen the franchise soar in popularity, so much so that, even despite the decidedly average Fantastic Beasts series, another Harry Potter game is in the works for 2022.

Developed by Avalance Studios, Hogwarts Legacy is currently slated for release sometime in 2022, having been delayed until January of this year. Hogwarts Legacy will also feature trans-inclusive character creation options despite the controversial views of author JK Rowling.