Highlights
- ESRB rating reveals surprise use of "sh*t" in Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions.
- Gameplay details include character shifting, hitting opponents with Bludgers, and victory celebrations.
- While microtransactions disappoint some, Quidditch Champions will be budget-friendly at $29.99 and free for PS Plus members in September 2024.
According to its ESRB rating, the upcoming fantasy sports game Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions will feature the word "sh*t" for some reason. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is the next video game based on the incredibly popular Harry Potter franchise, an IP primarily aimed at children and teenagers. The books and movies have occasional swear words, but it's still odd that Quidditch Champions features the word "sh*t."
For the most part, Quidditch Champions has looked like a family-friendly game. It uses a cartoonish art style to really hammer this point home. It certainly seems as though it will be avoiding the darker elements featured in some other Harry Potter games, like open world action-RPG Hogwarts Legacy, for instance. Quidditch Champions trailers have given no indication that the game would have much of anything that would be inappropriate for a younger audience, but as it so happens, the game has been hit with a T for Teen rating from the ESRB instead of the E for Everyone that some may have expected.
The Quidditch Champions ESRB rating confirms that players can shift between the game's playable characters and positions during games, which is an interesting gameplay detail, and that Beaters are able to tackle opponents and hit them with a ball (called a "Bludger" in the Wizarding World franchise). Quidditch Champions characters can become "dizzy" after taking too many hits. A victory celebration in the game sees a character hit in the face, presumably with a Bludger, and this animation includes a tooth and blood coming from their mouth. The ESRB rating notes that a separate celebration includes vomiting. The description ends by saying that "The word 'sh*t' appears in the game," but provides no further context as to how it's used or why. Ultimately, the game's T for Teen rating is due to Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Language, and Mild Blood, with the rating also noting that Quidditch Champions lets users interact and that there will be In-Game Purchases.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions ESRB Rating
While most Harry Potter fans likely aren't concerned about the swearing in the game, the confirmation of microtransactions in Quidditch Champions will likely disappoint some players. Hogwarts Legacy famously launched microtransaction-free and was much better off for it, but execs have made it clear that microtransactions will be a key component in future games. The game features extensive customization options, and so it seems likely that some of these will be locked behind a paywall, whether that's new ones added post-launch or some of the ones that will be available when Quidditch Champions launches on September 3.
What should make the microtransactions sting a little less is the fact that Quidditch Champions is releasing as a budget title and will be available for just $29.99. Not only that, but Quidditch Champions will be one of the free PS Plus Games for September 2024, so PlayStation gamers have the chance to play it without paying anything more than they usually do for their subscription.
Franchise Harry Potter Platform(s) PC , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Nintendo Switch Released September 3, 2024 Developer(s) Unbroken Studios Publisher(s) Warner Bros. Games Multiplayer Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer Expand See at Epic Games StoreSee at Playstation StoreSee at Steam
