Can you date in Harry Potter game?

No, you cannot currently date or pursue romantic relationships with other characters in the major Harry Potter video games out right now. Both Hogwarts Legacy and Hogwarts Mystery lack meaningful dating mechanics or options. But could that change in the future?

Hogwarts LegacyOpts Out of Romance Features

Hogwarts Legacy, the highly anticipated 2023 RPG title from Avalanche Software and Portkey Games, notably does not include any opportunities to date fellow students or professors at Hogwarts. This omission of romance features came as a surprise to fans, given dating and relationships are staples of similar coming-of-age wizard school narratives.

When asked about why dating was excluded, Hogwarts Legacy‘s narrative lead Moira Squier explained:

“We made a conscious decision not to [have romance] because we felt the scope of friendship was actually the most universal, not just for Harry Potter fans but video game fans.”

The developers doubled down that friendship would remain the primary relationship focus in the game. And indeed, Hogwarts Legacy encourages you to build strong connections with key characters like your housemates Sebastian Sallow and Poppy Sweeting or rebellious Slytherin Natsai Onai through shared missions and revelations about your mysterious heritage.

But these relationships never cross into romantic territory, even after countless hours spent together brewing potions or venturing into hidden chambers. For gamers seeking virtual love stories, Hogwarts Legacy simply doesn‘t deliver despite its vivid Wizarding World backdrop.

How Will This Impact Game Reception and Sales?

Based on critic reviews and fan reception so far, the lack of romance doesn‘t seem to be hampering Hogwarts Legacy much at all. With over 12 million copies sold in its first two weeks, it‘s already breaking sales records for a Harry Potter game.

Most reviews praise the title‘s magical open world, satisfying combat, and wealth of secrets to uncover across Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Players are kept busy customizing their dorms, taming magical beasts, mastering broom flight challenges – little time for dating amidst all the adventure!

But a small yet vocal contingent of fans on forums and social media are expressing disappointment that romantic connections are absent from this Hogwarts life simulation. Especially with mature themes like morality choices and unforgivable curses featured, some gamers felt dating options would be appropriate too.

So could the lack of dating hurt Hogwarts Legacy‘s long term player retention? It‘s tough to say definitively. For many hardcore Potterheads, simply attending classes with live-action professors and exploring a stunningly realized wizarding world is enough. But those seeking a more traditional RPG experience centered around relationships may find the current content gets repetitive faster without any romance possibilities as an added dynamic down the line.

How Do Other Major RPGs Compare?

To provide some wider genre context, let‘s look at how romance and dating features stack up across some other prominent fantasy/magic school RPG titles from recent years:

As we can observe, romance features seem split fairly evenly among popular games set in fantasy school settings similar to Hogwarts Legacy. So while dating at wizarding school is certainly not unprecedented, Hogwarts Legacy is far from the only title to skip it either.

Veteran RPG developer Alexis Kennedy posited on Game Developer that avoiding romance reduced production scope and complexity:

“Romance systems aren’t a matter of just branching a few dialog options…That’s a lot of production burden. And they knew they didn’t need it.”

Still, judging by fans clamoring for romance post-release, Avalanche Software perhaps underestimated the desire.

Side Quest Dating in Hogwarts Mystery Mobile Game

Unlike its big console sibling, the mobile RPG Hogwarts Mystery does contain some limited dating functionality…but only as minor side quest content unlocked midway through the game, not integrated with the central narrative.

Starting in Year 3, players can take select characters like smart Ravenclaw Penny Haywood or your rival Merlua Snyde on low-key dates to Hogsmeade shops like Madam Puddifoot’s once certain relationship levels are met.

You can check off relationship milestones like your first date, first kiss, and eventually becoming “exclusive” within these isolated vignettes. But the dating does not persist or progress outside of periodic triggered side quests. And the dating availability is extremely limited — only 6 romance options exist currently, all opposite gender.

So while Hogwarts Mystery makes some strides to satisfy fan demands for romance, the feature still feels more like fan service rather than an integral part of the Hogwarts fantasy simulation.

What Do Players Think of Dating in Hogwarts Mystery?

Fan reactions to the side quest dating in Hogwarts Mystery seem mixed. Some applaud the cute diversion it adds; others critique the shallow implementation. A few player perspectives from the HPHogwartsMystery subreddit:

"It‘s definitely not the focus of the game, but I do like having the occasional weird romantic side quest."

"The dating in this game feels pointless since it doesn‘t impact the main story or have any consequences."

"I wish dating was deeper in this game, like similar to Stardew Valley or other life simulators where relationships evolve over seasons."

While players seem to enjoy the novelty of dating quests to shake up routine school activities, most agree much greater depth is needed to feel rewarding long-term.

And fans almost universally call for more dating options and diversity. Even just one same-gender romance path would be progress given the strictly heteronormative pairings now.

The Future of Dating in Harry Potter Games

Given fan demands, critical analysis, and design precedent of comparable fantasy RPG titles, romance features seem not just plausible but likely to emerge in some capacity in future Harry Potter games.

Hogwarts Legacy‘s omission of dating surprised some but didn‘t cause lasting damage judging by its record sales. However, should sequels expand the Wizarding World map even wider, the lack of romantic connections could feel like more glaring missing component for virtual life simulation fans.

And Ravenclaw producer Dallas Dickinson revealed significant extra relationship content was cut from Hogwarts Legacy pre-release like quidditch team bonds and additional companion quests.

This indicates Avalanche Software may add back more social and romantic depth to the simulation in future franchise installments now that the vast base open world is built. Dating features could help sustain player investment and enjoyment across sequels and years spent back at Hogwarts with beloved characters.

As for Hogwarts Mystery, developers Portkey Games still regularly update the mobile title with new stories, outfits, and events. Expanding the dating functionality remains one of most requested fan suggestions.

Even by incorporating marriage and family mechanics later on after graduation modeled after mega-popular dating sim The Arcana, Hogwarts Mystery could fulfill players seeking deeper romantic escapism long after main quests conclude.

So in summary — Harry Potter games may not offer much virtual dating currently, but the narrative potential and audience demand both seem strong should developers choose to cultivate romance options more thoroughly. Both fans and studios stand to benefit in the long run.

As a passionate Potter fan myself, I know I‘d cherish a chance to truly find love and connection at Hogwarts…even if only in the universe of brilliant game developers granting that gift.