Harry Potter Spin-Off Film Series Getting Video Game Adaption

The Harry Potter series is one of the most successful franchises of all time, and though the books may be finished, the film series will continue with a spin-off series of movies written by the author J.K. Rowling.

This new series will focus on the writing of Hogwarts textbook "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by Newt Scamander and his adventures researching the bizarre and oftentimes dangerous magical animals found within the Harry Potter universe. The new films are set 70 years before the events of the Harry Potter novels, and like that series "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" will be getting its own video game adaption.

It is unknown who will be developing the games, or what sort of games they will be. After all, the news broke only recently. IGN is reporting that it is unclear what publisher will control the video game series, as past Harry Potter games have been put out by EA, but Warner Bros. (who is making the movies) has their own video game studio, WB Games, that can release the games. It is also unclear what platforms the series would appear on, but considering the movies are several years away, it is likely that the games will appear on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

While past Harry Potter video game titles have been a mixed bag, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them could present a unique opportunity to elevate the franchise's video game adaptations to a new level. Strictly dictated by the stories of their source material, past games in the series have been restricted, but this new series could take things in a new direction. With a looser narrative less dependent on source material, the games could go into numerous different areas. Perhaps players could go on a nonlinear journey through the magical areas of the world and encounter magical creatures along the way. With the open worlds seen in previews for Assassin's Creed 4 and Grand Theft Auto 5 setting a new bar for seamless-interact worlds, the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them game could benefit from a similar approach.

Look out for more news about the game and movie series right here as both continue to development.