Is a cloud version on the horizon?
(Image credit: Warner Bros)
The Hogwarts Legacy system requirements have been released via Steam, causing some fans to wonder how on earth the game will run on the Nintendo Switch.
System requirements released yesterday (opens in new tab) suggest that you’ll need some decent hardware to get Hogwarts Legacy running. Notably, developer Avalanche says you’ll need at least 85GB of hard drive space, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GTX 1070 graphics card to hit the minimum requirements and get the game running at 60fps at 1080p on low quality settings. Recommended settings – which will get the game running at high quality – asks for 16GB of RAM and a slightly better Nvidia 1080 Ti. Avalanche also notes that the “preferred” method of running the game includes an SSD, rather than an HDD.
That’s not too punishing given the scope of what we’ve seen from Hogwarts Legacy so far, but over on Reddit, some players are worried that their rigs won’t be able to keep up. Many commenters have balked at the GTX 1070 requirement, while others have noted the significant disk space it’ll take up, with one player stating (opens in new tab) that Hogwarts Legacy promises to be “way more demanding than I thought.”
Others, however, have noted that these specs are almost certain to mean that Hogwarts Legacy’s Switch version will be a Cloud game. For context, The Witcher 3 – arguably the most graphically demanding game available on Switch via traditional means – has significantly lower requirements than the likes of Hitman 3, Control, or Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, all of which are available on Nintendo hardware through the cloud.
NintendoLife (opens in new tab) notes that Hogwarts Legacy is set to receive a physical box release on Switch, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a cartridge will feature in that box – the PC version of the Hogwarts Legacy Collector’s Edition, for example, comes with a steelbook but no game code. Avalanche is also yet to confirm details of the Switch port, as while the Hogwarts Legacy release date is set for February 23 on all other platforms, a Switch date is yet to be announced, making a cloud version seem a little more likely.
Although she is not involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, GamesRadar+ acknowledges the role of J.K. Rowling in the creation of the Wizarding World, as well as her publicly-stated, harmful views regarding the rights of transgender people. If you’d like to offer your support to the communities affected by Rowling’s rhetoric, consider donating to the National Center for Transgender Equality (opens in new tab) in the US, or Mermaids (opens in new tab) in the UK.