What’s life like after Hogwarts? Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is about to explore exactly this, as the game goes beyond the student life, and examines life as a grown-up with Beyond Hogwarts. The update will be available to players who have completed Year 7, Chapter 59 of their adventure - but what exactly can fans expect once they finish their Hogwarts education?

Before moving forwards, let’s take a step back. How has your vision for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery evolved since it first began?

As the setting and characters are from beloved stories, the original goal for this game was to create an immersive, story-driven experience that fans know well and identify with personally. Working closely with our partners, we’ve created more access to the wizarding world where players can explore nostalgic locations, learn more about their favourite teachers, and even experience great loss at the hands of Dark wizards. Since launch, players have been able to build a more fully realised world of fantasy and magic with new features (Quidditch, Romance, Magical Creatures, Hogsmeade Carnival, etc.), refreshing the experience regularly.

Tell us all about your new expansion, Beyond Hogwarts.

For the first time ever, we’re giving Harry Potter fans the chance to graduate from Hogwarts and continue their adventure as their character grows up and steps out into the wider wizarding world. Some time has passed since graduating and their first tasks will be meeting up with Penny in Diagon Alley to see what she’s been up to since leaving school, choosing where they want to live, decorating their very own flat, and uncovering the mystery of just what exactly they’ve signed up for in their first job in the wizarding world.

There are many new characters and locations to discover, as well as old friends and acquaintances to catch up with as the story unfolds. The most exciting part is, although Hogwarts will remain an important part of your adventure, as an adult witch or wizard there are so many new and exciting places we can take players - and they’ll catch a glimpse of some of these places when they see the new world map menu launching with the update.

How did you choose the direction that the game’s story will be taking in Beyond Hogwarts?

The game has always been about giving players the chance to have their own Hogwarts story, and we wanted players to have the opportunity to continue it. Imagine if you could put your own touch on your favourite movie, TV show, or book, expanding your understanding of the fantastical world you know and love, and continuing well past the timeline that any other medium can support. Over the past 5 years, players have experienced a rich narrative as they’ve built deep friendships (and faced dangerous foes), been shocked by massive story twists, all while progressing and growing as a student at Hogwarts.

We wanted to build on that experience as we explore where we can expand upon the story we’ve been telling on a much grander scale - and we’ve worked closely with our players to gather feedback on what they want to see happen post-graduation. As much as we want to tell the story we’re creating, it’s just as important for us to listen to our players and incorporate their ideas where possible!

When the team was putting together ideas for Beyond Hogwarts, what sort of things did you take inspiration from?

Now that our story and timeline are moving into the same space that Harry fills (Beyond Hogwarts kicks off in 1991, as Harry is about to begin his own adventure at Hogwarts), we started by making sure our existing canon characters and locations feel accurate to what fans have already seen. Ageing up canon characters like Tonks, while also updating and including Professor Quirrell to match his look in the first Harry Potter film are just some of the more notable updates.

Fans know a lot about what was happening at Hogwarts during these years, and we wanted to build upon that, exploring what else was happening in the wizarding world leading up to Voldemort’s return and the Second Wizarding War. We reviewed the films and the books, focused on what was happening around Harry, how the wizarding world was changing during this time to inform the story in Beyond Hogwarts. Our aim was to enable players to feel a part of the same world as the story they love while continuing to carve out our own space, offering Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery players an experience that’s unique and full of surprises.

Characters living by themselves outside Hogwarts is so interesting! How does the team imagine what wizards/witches achieving their independence outside the wizarding school looks like? What challenges do post-graduates face?

This was really exciting for the team to imagine. What does life look like for wizards/witches outside of school? What jobs need to be done when you have magic? We listened to our players about what magical careers interested them most and aimed to give them the opportunity to explore them. We also wanted to give players more freedom to explore their own path without set subjects to study, detentions or dormitory restrictions. Just as in the books and films, the bonds of friendship built at school are a foundation for navigating a wider world.

Much of this experience is creating a new, but familiar parallel for many of the systems that already exist. Instead of a dorm, you’ll now have a flat - one that you can customise and decorate with much more flexibility than ever before. Chapter requisite options as well as the new Specialisations feature give players more choice in their path forward. As a post-graduate, you’ll also have access to new “Former Student” clubs and social spaces - with more coming soon!

The goal is really to ensure that we’re offering as rich of an experience as players have come to expect in their time at Hogwarts, but in a way that makes sense for an adult witch or wizard.

What does Beyond Hogwarts offer to new players?

Aside from giving them much more to look forward to as they begin their adventure as a student at Hogwarts and experience seven exciting years of mystery and magic, there are a load of quality-of-life improvements coming to the game to improve the experience for all players.

They’ll also benefit from all of the celebratory rewards and giveaways we’ll be offering between now and launch, and we’re of course going to continue offering a regular cadence of new events, monthly rewards, new features and other surprises for all players alongside the new content that will be waiting for them beyond Year 7.

And finally, what can Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery players expect after 27 July?

First, all players can celebrate alongside our first Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery graduates by collecting free “Class of ‘91” in-game rewards for a limited time. Following that, we’re celebrating Harry Potter’s birthday on 31 July with another free in-game reward…and a host of new events in August that will continue the new storyline in Beyond Hogwarts alongside new adventures for all players to enjoy outside of our regularly scheduled events (with new outfits, dorm sets, and more to collect of course).

We’re also excited to celebrate Back to Hogwarts in late August with some special surprises and events, Dark Arts and Christmas in the Wizarding World, and even more exciting surprises for both new and long-time players! There’s never been a better time to be a Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery player.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery launches Beyond Hogwarts on 27th July for eligible players. You can learn more from the official website.