Open world Harry Potter fantasy action roleplaying game Hogwarts Legacy looks set to dominate the gaming industry this year like Elden Ring did last.

But last week also saw two noteworthy sci-fi connections - with the newly released Dead Space remake and last years' Gotham Knights.

Dead Space

Hogwarts Legacy which releases on February 10 has both been a top wishlisted item on Steam and also a top seller for some time.

Being a top-seller is particularly impressive because those are pre-order sales.

Buyers have to be especially keen on and have a lot of trust in a title to lay down money before a game releases and can be reviewed.

Regret is otherwise a huge risk. Not every game is as advertised.

That game obviously also has the benefit of being part of a massively popular franchise.

Yesterday we noticed that newly released Dead Space - which is reviewing extremely well - was in first position in Steam sales, which it jumped to on release the previous day.

Today it's back to second place.

A mere two days in top position might seem poor but it is competing with a juggernaut

Gotham Knights

So how does an upcoming wizard game relate to a superhero game from last year?

Both are published by Warner Bros., but that's just the beginning.

Last year many several gaming publications scored Gotham Knights in the 5/10 region which after playing ourselves we found to be unfair.

Scores that low would undoubtedly have affected sales.

Except that the game was immediately heavily discounted in the 50% off region.

So quite a lot of players snapped it up and player reviews were more favourable. Like our own.

Players learn a lesson - you can't always trust these sites.

How does this relate to Hogwarts Legacy?

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling who will receive royalties from Hogwarts Legacy continues to express arguably quite nasty views about gender.

Many gaming sites preface or follow all coverage with commentary about those views.

In the lead up to big title releases major gaming publications are often either invited to special preview events or given pre-release copies.

Not for this game.

Warner Bros. invited a huge number of YouTubers to preview events around the world.

So instead of preview footage and commentary being delivered through the narrow funnel of big gaming media, it's a flood which washes over and around them.

That flood might also be a very effective marketing strategy and responsible for Dead Space's short lived sales dominance.

The Dead Space remake is available now on PC, Xbox X|S and PS5.

[ Main Image: Dead Space (remake). Credit: Electronic Arts via Steam. ]

References

Hussain, Mudassir (January 27, 2023). Dead Space Remake Dethrones Hogwarts Legacy as Top Seller. Top Tier List.

Metacritic. Dead Space (PC). (viewed January 30, 2023)

Steam. Top Sellers. (viewed January 29 & 30, 2023)

Steam. Top Wishlists. (viewed January 29 & 30, 2023)