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135-649: Rocksteady Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in London. Founded on 13 December 2004, the studio is best known for its work in the Batman: Arkham series. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games . Rocksteady Studios was founded on 13 December 2004, by Jamie Walker and Sefton Hill, formerly employed by the previously closed Argonaut Games as creative director and head of production, respectively. Several other Argonaut employees were also hired. SCi Entertainment (later renamed Eidos)

270-525: A Grammy Award for its soundtrack, and two BAFTA Games Awards . A sequel is in development. Hogwarts Legacy is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective . It is set at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and its surrounding areas, influenced by the Wizarding World franchise. During character creation, the player can choose their character's appearance, gender, voice, and body type. They may also choose one of

405-733: A Rockstar Games release holding the top position. It was the second-bestselling game in Europe of 2023. When excluding EA football games, no other game has attained the amount of unit sales in a calendar year since the commencement of the European charts in 2017. It was the bestselling game in Czech Republic, Netherlands and United Kingdom while also being placed in the top three positions in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden. On Steam, it

540-550: A Suicide Squad game. The Suicide Squad game is set five years after the events of Arkham Knight , and was released in February 2024. The Guardian reported in August 2020 that the studio had failed to address issues related to sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour that more than half of the female employees had written to the studios executives about in a November 2018 letter. Such actions had included "slurs regarding

675-593: A database , Voice over IP , or add-in interface software; this is also known as middleware . Examples of this include SpeedTree and Havoc . Independents are software developers which are not owned by (or dependent on) a single publisher. Some of these developers self-publish their games, relying on the Internet and word of mouth for publicity. Without the large marketing budgets of mainstream publishers, their products may receive less recognition than those of larger publishers such as Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. With

810-590: A 300% increase in traffic on Wizarding World websites. Hogwarts Legacy's popularity has notably influenced Warner Bros. Discovery's franchise strategy. Being the best-selling game of 2023, it highlights how crucial video games are for the company's franchise engagement. David Haddad noted that this success has emphasized the role of video games for Warner Bros. in maintaining interest in their franchises. In August 2024, Warner Bros. stated it plans to release more Wizarding World games after Hogwarts Legacy's success . They followed up with Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions ,

945-400: A boycott. Following some delays, it was released on 10 February 2023 for PlayStation 5 , Windows , and Xbox Series X/S , on 5 May 2023 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One , and on 14 November 2023 for Nintendo Switch . The early-access period of Hogwarts Legacy resulted in record-breaking viewership on streaming platform Twitch , making it the most-watched single-player game of all time on

1080-452: A culture of "toxic geek masculinity" within the workplace. In addition, the conditions behind crunch time are far more discriminating towards women as this requires them to commit time exclusively to the company or to more personal activities like raising a family. These factors established conditions within some larger development studios where female developers have found themselves discriminated in workplace hiring and promotion, as well as

1215-482: A fifth-year student and assigns Professor Fig as the protagonist's mentor. Fig escorts the protagonist from London to Hogwarts via a flying coach. While investigating an unknown artefact, a dragon attacks them, prompting the two to reach for a Portkey hidden inside the artefact that teleports them to Gringotts . Using the Portkey to enter an old vault, the protagonist learns they can see traces of ancient magic. The duo

1350-571: A first-party company. As a balance to not being able to release their game for other platforms, second-party developers are usually offered higher royalty rates than third-party developers. These studios may have exclusive publishing agreements (or other business relationships) with the platform holder, but maintain independence so that upon completion or termination of their contracts, they are able to continue developing games for other publishers if they choose to. For example, while HAL Laboratory initially began developing games on personal computers like

1485-410: A fixed period and generally work similar hours as full-time staff members, assisting across all areas of video game development, but as contractors, do not get any benefits such as paid time-off or health care from the employer; they also are typically not credited on games that they work on for this reason. The practice itself is legal and common in other engineering and technology areas, and generally it

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1620-403: A game on schedule. The complexity of workflow, reliance on third-party deliverables, and the intangibles of artistic and aesthetic demands in video game creation create difficulty in predicting milestones. The use of crunch time is also seen to be exploitative of the younger male-dominated workforce in video games, who have not had the time to establish a family and who were eager to advance within

1755-406: A game's profits. Current examples of first-party studios include PlayStation Studios for Sony, and Xbox Game Studios for Microsoft Gaming . Second-party developer is a colloquial term often used by gaming enthusiasts and media to describe game studios that take development contracts from platform holders and develop games exclusive to that platform, i.e. a non-owned developer making games for

1890-516: A hidden repository of ancient magic after using it to extract negative emotions, particularly from her suffering father. The Keepers realised that Isidora was inhaling the extracted emotions to increase her own power and failed to dissuade her, forcing one of them to eliminate her with the Killing Curse . Through their other adventures, the protagonist also learns that Ranrok, the leader of an ongoing goblin rebellion against wizards, seeks to find

2025-418: A photo mode, talent point resets, and new cosmetic items. The update also released pre-order and console-exclusive content, including the "Haunted Hogsmeade Shop" quest. According to review aggregator Metacritic , Hogwarts Legacy received "generally favourable" reviews. As per OpenCritic , 89% of the 158 critic reviews recommend it. The environments and visuals were lauded, with many critics praising

2160-437: A position in a medium to large video game company. An experienced game-development employee, depending on their expertise and experience, averaged roughly $ 73,000 in 2007. Indie game developers may only earn between $ 10,000 and $ 50,000 a year depending on how financially successful their titles are. In addition to being part of the software industry, game development is also within the entertainment industry; most sectors of

2295-558: A result of its record-breaking viewership on Twitch during early access, Hogwarts Legacy became the most-watched single-player game of all time by peak viewers on the platform and received a Guinness World Record . At the 20th British Academy Games Awards , Hogwarts Legacy was longlisted in nine categories. It was nominated for the British Academy Games Award for Animation and British Academy Games Award for Family . It received nominations for "Game of

2430-649: A roundtable discussion with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the professional association for developers. Statements made by the IGDA's current executive director Jen MacLean relating to IGDA's activities had been seen by as anti-union, and Game Workers Unite desired to start a conversation to lay out the need for developers to unionize. In the wake of the sudden near-closure of Telltale Games in September 2018,

2565-473: A runner-up for "Best Open-World Game". It appeared on multiple year-end lists of 2023, including GamingBolt (9th), British GQ (21st), BAFTA Games , GamePressure , Der Spiegel , BBC and The Telegraph . In the month of its release, Hogwarts Legacy quickly rose to prominence as the top game in the Wizarding World franchise. The franchise also experienced a boost in engagement, with

2700-407: A single publisher; one canceled game may devastate a small developer. Because of this, many small development companies are short-lived. A common exit strategy for a successful video game developer is to sell the company to a publisher, becoming an in-house developer. In-house development teams tend to have more freedom in game design and content than third-party developers. One reason is that since

2835-441: A special mount, clothing set, and a new battle arena location. The Collector's Edition includes the former's content and adds a steel case, box, and a collectible "floating wand." Standard Edition buyers can upgrade to Deluxe by purchasing the extra content separately. Early access was made available to people who had pre-ordered the physical Collector's Edition or Digital Deluxe Edition on console or PC on 7 February 2023. To promote

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2970-403: A strong STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) background for women at the secondary education level, but there are issues with tertiary education such as at colleges and universities, where game development programs tend to reflect the male-dominated demographics of the industry, a factor that may lead women with strong STEM backgrounds to choose other career goals. There

3105-623: A time period where no established characters of the Wizarding World franchise were around, making it possible to provide the player with their own unique world in a setting similar to the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts eras. The writing team focused on creating a "diverse collection" of characters for players to potentially identify with in a positive way. Although the main characters of Harry Potter are absent in Hogwarts Legacy , some, such as Nearly Headless Nick and Peeves

3240-511: A total of 15 million copies sold worldwide and crossed $ 1 billion in total revenue. By the end of 2023, Hogwarts Legacy achieved a sales milestone of 22 million copies, with around 2 million units sold during the December holiday season. By the end of October 2024, it crossed 30 million copies sold, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time . In the US, Hogwarts Legacy topped

3375-697: A unique case where nearly all parts of its labor force, including white-collar jobs such as video game development, may engage with labor unions under the Employment Protection Act often through collective bargaining agreements. Developer DICE had reached its union agreements in 2004. Paradox Interactive became one of the first major publishers to support unionization efforts in June 2020 with its own agreements to cover its Swedish employees within two labor unions Unionen and SACO . In Australia, video game developers could join other unions, but

3510-527: A unique common room; these rooms are only accessible for the player's current house chosen by the Sorting Hat . Accompanied by the choice of house, the player receives different exclusive quests. While house points for the four Hogwarts houses play a part in the plot, they are not influenced by player actions. Next to experiences in Hogwarts Castle, the player can explore related areas such as

3645-482: Is also a significant gap in racial minorities within the video game industry; a 2019 IGDA survey found only 2% of developers considered themselves to be of African descent and 7% Hispanic, while 81% were Caucasian; in contrast, 2018 estimates from the United States Census estimate the U.S. population to be 13% of African descent and 18% Hispanic. In a 2014 and 2015 survey of job positions and salaries,

3780-438: Is also able to build friendships with fellow students Natsai Onai, Poppy Sweeting, and Sebastian Sallow, who take part in the protagonist's journey as companion characters. Antagonists include Ranrok, the leader of a goblin rebellion, and Victor Rookwood, the leader of a group of Dark Wizards. The protagonist receives a letter from Professor Weasley, which confirms their attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as

3915-418: Is confronted by a hostile goblin named Ranrok before escaping to Hogwarts, where the protagonist is sorted into one of the four houses. The protagonist learns various spells during classes and goes on a trip to Hogsmeade with a companion, where a troll sent by Ranrok attacks them and is defeated by them. The protagonist also sneaks into the library and finds a book with missing pages. While Professor Fig studies

4050-449: Is expected that this is meant to lead into a full-time position, or otherwise the end of the contract. But more recently, its use in the video game industry has been compared to Microsoft 's past use of " permatemp ", contract workers that were continually renewed and treated for all purposes as employees but received no benefits. While Microsoft has waned from the practice, the video game industry has adapted it more frequently. Around 10% of

4185-533: Is generally illegal, companies often target their oldest workers first during layoffs or other periods of reduction. Older developers with experience may find themselves too qualified for the types of positions that other game development companies seek given the salaries and compensations offered. Some of the larger video game developers and publishers have also engaged contract workers through agencies to help add manpower in game development in part to alleviate crunch time from employees. Contractors are brought on for

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4320-436: Is made to be easily recognisable. Game director Alan Tew also added that they aimed to go beyond the expected areas to let people discover new locations and undiscovered chambers. Tew and Madsen further explained that they endeavoured to provide each common room of the four Hogwarts Houses as a unique experience to its members, which is further amplified by the addition of uniquely created music for each house. The overarching aim

4455-537: Is part of a series of enhanced games. As part of the release, players received free cosmetic items by joining the Harry Potter Fan Club and linking the WB Games account . PlayStation versions include exclusive content like the "Haunted Hogsmeade Shop" quest and the "Felix Felicis" potion recipe as a pre-order bonus. The quest features an additional dungeon, a cosmetic set, and an in-game shop, while

4590-621: Is part of the Wizarding World franchise, taking place a century prior to the Harry Potter novels. The player controls a student enrolled in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who learns to wield an array of magical abilities and objects. With the assistance of fellow students and professors, the protagonist embarks on a journey to unearth an ancient secret concealed within the wizarding world . Following their acquisition by Warner Bros. in 2017, Hogwarts Legacy marks

4725-494: Is still their primary activity they are generally described as "publishers" rather than "developers". Developers may be private as well. In the video game industry , a first-party developer is part of a company that manufactures a video game console and develops mainly for it. First-party developers may use the name of the company itself (such as Nintendo ), have a specific division name (such as Sony's Polyphony Digital ) or have been an independent studio before being acquired by

4860-557: Is used to place and take care of utility items such as brewing stations and planting pots, which can also be customised. Some of the magical beasts can be held in a chosen "Vivarium", a separate place where the player takes care of them. Players are able to tame, care for, and ride different magical beasts , including hippogriffs and thestrals . Other interactable magical creatures include unicorns, kneazles , and puffskeins. Plants grown and acquired can be used in combat, such as mandrakes being used to stun enemies. Players can explore

4995-474: Is usually conducted in a casual business environment, with t-shirts and sandals as common work attire. Many workers find this type of environment rewarding and pleasant professionally and personally. However, the industry also requires long working hours from its employees (sometimes to an extent seen as unsustainable). Employee burnout is not uncommon. An entry-level programmer can make, on average, over $ 66,000 annually only if they are successful in obtaining

5130-659: The AFL–CIO writing an open letter to video game developers encouraging them to unionize. In January 2020, Game Workers Unite and the Communications Workers of America established a new campaign to push for unionization of video game developers, the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE), in January 2020. Initial efforts for CODE were aimed to determine what approach to unionization would be best suited for

5265-559: The Batman licence, and by May 2007, they had begun developing the concept of Batman: Arkham Asylum , with full production beginning in September 2007. The game's commercial and critical success led publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) to acquire an undisclosed majority stake in Rocksteady in February 2010. Eidos (Square Enix Europe) retained its 25.1% stake, however it later became wholly owned by WBIE. Arkham Asylum

5400-456: The International Game Developers Association (IGDA), are conducting increasing discussions about the problem; they are concerned that working conditions in the industry cause a significant deterioration in employees' quality of life. Some video game developers and publishers have been accused of the excessive invocation of "crunch time". "Crunch time" is the point at which the team is thought to be failing to achieve milestones needed to launch

5535-516: The MSX , they became one of the earliest second-party developers for Nintendo, developing exclusively for Nintendo's consoles starting with the Famicom, though they would self-publish their mobile games. A third-party developer may also publish games, or work for a video game publisher to develop a title. Both publisher and developer have considerable input in the game's design and content. However,

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5670-528: The Me Too movement and have tried to address the symptoms of these problems industry-wide, the video game industry has yet to have its Me Too-moment, even as late as 2021. There also tends to be pay-related discrimination against women in the industry. According to Gamasutra 's Game Developer Salary Survey 2014, women in the United States made 86 cents for every dollar men made. Game designing women had

5805-681: The PlayStation 5 DualSense controller , as well as fast loading times and activities. They referenced the usage of the Unreal Engine, the computing and rendering capabilities of the PlayStation 5, and the Niagara visual effects system to deliver visual effects for spells and magic. The soundtrack was composed by Chuck E. Myers, J. Scott Rakozy and Peter Murray, including additional tracks by Alexander Horowitz . According to Myers,

5940-600: The Scottish Highlands . The player takes on the role of a student (voiced by Sebastian Croft or Amelia Gething ) starting their studies at Hogwarts in the fifth year. The player character possesses the power to control a mysterious ancient magic and holds the key to an "ancient secret" that threatens the stability of the wizarding world. Their mission is to discover the reasons behind the resurgence of this forgotten magic and those who are trying to harness its power. The player encounters various characters, with

6075-504: The Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union doing work for video games struck several major publishers, demanding better royalty payments and provisions related to the safety of their vocal performances, when their union's standard contract was up for renewal. The voice actor strike lasted for over 300 days into 2017 before a new deal was made between SAG-AFTRA and

6210-547: The video game industry . He told the Los Angeles Times : "Someone who was part of the co-creation of that world and those characters isn't getting a credit or a nickel for the work they put into it. Maybe we need unions in the video game industry to be able to protect creators." Hogwarts Legacy Hogwarts Legacy is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label. It

6345-614: The "Best Fanservice" award. At the PS Blog Game of the Year Awards 2023, the game was nominated in seven categories. It won "PS4 Game of the Year" and was placed in runner-up categories for "Best Use of Dual Sense" (Gold Trophy) and "Best Audio Design" (Silver Trophy). The Escapist named it one of five best action-adventure games of 2023. Hardcore Gamer nominated Hogwarts Legacy for "Best Action Game", while IGN named it

6480-535: The House Cup for their respective house. Hogwarts Legacy was developed by Avalanche Software , which was acquired by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment from Disney in January 2017. In the same year, Warner Bros. established a new publishing label named Portkey Games , which was dedicated to managing the Wizarding World license. Hogwarts Legacy was Avalanche's first project unrelated to Disney Interactive Studios and its products. The open world game

6615-446: The IGDA found that people of color were both underrepresented in senior management roles as well as underpaid in comparison to white developers. Further, because video game developers typically draw from personal experiences in building game characters, this diversity gap has led to few characters of racial minority to be featured as main characters within video games. Minority developers have also been harassed from external groups due to

6750-1122: The Justice League through the game's first year and is also assisting in the development of a director's cut for Hogwarts Legacy . However, Warner Bros. Games declined to comment on the future of the game or the studio. In September 2024, anonymous employees told Eurogamer that Rocksteady's QA team had experienced a layoff, reducing the team's headcount by half, as a result of the game's poor sales. Video game developer A developer may specialize in specific game engines or specific video game consoles , or may develop for several systems (including personal computers and mobile devices ). Some focus on porting games from one system to another, or translating games from one language to another. Less commonly, some do software development work in addition to games. Most video game publishers maintain development studios (such as Electronic Arts 's EA Canada , Square Enix 's studios, Activision 's Radical Entertainment , Nintendo EPD and Sony's Polyphony Digital and Naughty Dog ). However, since publishing

6885-461: The Keepers. The trials feature complicated puzzles and dangerous tasks that require the skills the protagonist has acquired, each leading to a Pensieve , a magical device used to store and review memories. The protagonist learns from the memories that Isidora Morganach, a Hogwarts student who became a professor with abilities similar to the protagonist, was in conflict with the Keepers and left behind

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7020-697: The Original Video Game Soundtrack) . The soundtrack was also released on vinyl , mastered by James Plotkin, and distributed by Mondo . On 25 June, the Hollywood Bowl hosted a concert in celebration of the ten-year anniversary of the Game Awards , featuring a range of video game music from recent years, including Hogwarts Legacy . The music was performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra . The event

7155-489: The Poltergeist , make appearances. The team also introduced a trans-inclusive character creator and the franchise's first transgender character, Sirona Ryan. Boston Madsen, the environmental lead for the creation of Hogwarts, emphasised the importance of creating environmental elements close to the source material of the Harry Potter books. Madsen stated that even though it is Avalanche Software's version of Hogwarts, it

7290-427: The Wizarding World's demand of denying magical access to his kind. Hogwarts Legacy became a subject of contention in response to Rowling's controversial views on transgender people . Her detractors called for a boycott as a means of showing solidarity with the transgender community and to impede the financial benefits she would receive from its release. Others felt that Hogwarts Legacy could be separated from

7425-485: The Year" and "Best Game on Steam Deck" at The Steam Awards , winning the latter . At the 2024 Pégases Awards in France, Legacy was nominated in the category of "Best Foreign Video Game". The game also received a nomination for "Best Foreign Game" at Poland's 2024 Digital Dragons Awards. Eurogamer Germany recognized Hogwarts Legacy for its outstanding fanservice in their 2023 awards announcement, honoring it with

7560-535: The acquisition of Activision Blizzard , stated it supported these unionization efforts. After this acquisition, the employees of Bethesda Game Studios , part of Zenimax under Microsoft, unionized under the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in July 2024. Over 500 employees within Blizzard Entertainment 's World of Warcraft division also unionized with CWA that same month. Sweden presents

7695-512: The advancements in modern technology and gaming consoles, it was possible to create a competent game based on the Wizarding World. The open world was designed to fulfil two primary goals: to allow players overall freedom and to offer opportunities to craft a gaming experience that is highly personalised and can be enjoyed in their own unique way. Artists Jeff Bunker and Vanessa Palmer explained that they kept five tech pillars in mind: 4K graphics and visuals, 3D audio , activities and game help, and

7830-572: The advent of digital distribution of inexpensive games on game consoles, it is now possible for indie game developers to forge agreements with console manufacturers for broad distribution of their games. Other indie game developers create game software for a number of video-game publishers on several gaming platforms. In recent years this model has been in decline; larger publishers, such as Electronic Arts and Activision, increasingly turn to internal studios (usually former independent developers acquired for their development needs). Video game development

7965-495: The book, the protagonist locates the missing pages and finds a secret room below Hogwarts known as the Map Chamber, where they later visit several times with Fig and talk to the portraits of four deceased Hogwarts professors who refer to themselves as the "Keepers", whose goal is to protect the secrets of ancient magic from the wizarding world. To reveal the secrets of ancient magic, the protagonist completes four trials left by

8100-481: The centuries and is not evidence of malice on the part of contemporary artists. The statement also commended Rowling for her tireless efforts in defending the Jewish community. Travis Northup of IGN disagreed that the game contained antisemitic tropes. He pointed out that the story did not feature a group of goblins controlling banks or attempting to seize power, but rather focused on a single goblin who rebelled against

8235-431: The closest equity, making 96 cents for every dollar men made in the same job, while audio professional women had the largest gap, making 68% of what men in the same position made. Increasing the representation of women in the video game industry required breaking a feedback loop of the apparent lack of female representation in the production of video games and in the content of video games. Efforts have been made to provide

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8370-416: The console manufacturer (such as Rare or Naughty Dog ). Whether by purchasing an independent studio or by founding a new team, the acquisition of a first-party developer involves a huge financial investment on the part of the console manufacturer, which is wasted if the developer fails to produce a hit game on time. However, using first-party developers saves the cost of having to make royalty payments on

8505-508: The console. This established the use of licensing fees as a model for third-party development that persists into the present. The licensing fee approach was further enforced by Nintendo when it decided to allow other third-party developers to make games for the Famicom console, setting a 30% licensing fee that covered game cartridge manufacturing costs and development fees. The 30% licensing fee for third-party developers has also persisted to

8640-402: The course of development of seven years, the studio struggled to get the game off the ground, having very little experience in its genre, which resulted in several postponements. A Suicide Squad game had been teased at the end of Batman: Arkham Origins (developed by WB Games Montreal ), and in the years since Batman: Arkham Knight was released, Rocksteady had been rumoured to be working on

8775-496: The design felt dated, attributing this to its long development cycle. The Guardian criticised the experience as competent yet not particularly impressive. While praising the presentation for its captivating nature, they felt that the progression was derivative of other open-world examples. GameRevolution described Legacy as a fun but forgettable Harry Potter fan service , writing that features such as attending classes and creating potions lacked sufficient depth. The combat

8910-444: The developer if the game is not meeting expectations. When each milestone is completed (and accepted), the publisher pays the developer an advance on royalties . Successful developers may maintain several teams working on different games for different publishers. Generally, however, third-party developers tend to be small, close-knit teams. Third-party game development is a volatile sector, since small developers may depend on income from

9045-417: The developers are the publisher's employees, their interests align with those of the publisher; the publisher may spend less effort ensuring that the developer's decisions do not enrich the developer at the publisher's expense. Activision in 1979 became the first third-party video game developer. When four Atari, Inc. programmers left the company following its sale to Warner Communications , partially over

9180-434: The development process lasted nearly four years. Audio production coordinator Nathan Ayuobi noted that while they took inspiration from composer John Williams ' previous Harry Potter -related work, they concentrated on forging their own unique style. In a behind-the-scenes video, composers Murray and Rakozy commented on the creation of the Hogwarts Legacy soundtrack. They explained that the challenge of its creative process

9315-597: The employees who had signed the 2018 letter, disputing the claims reported in The Guardian . At the end of 2022, co-founders Jamie Walker and Sefton Hill left Rocksteady after more than 18 years at the company and during the development of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. They formed a new company called Hundred Star Studios in January 2024 that will consist of “only 100 industry veterans and emerging talents.” Nathan Burlow and Darius Sadeghian were promoted to replace them. Rocksteady will continue to support Kill

9450-403: The end of the school year is leading to the O.W.L. exams. They also continue to explore the castle's surrounding areas and go through adventures with companions Sebastian Sallow, Poppy Sweeting, and Natsai Onai if they haven't completed them already. The journey ends with Professor Weasley awarding the protagonist 100 house points for the extraordinary adventure, which ultimately leads to a win of

9585-406: The enemies for lacking variety. The narrative divided critics. Some praised the developer's handling of the narrative to tell an original story in a setting that felt overly familiar. Windows Central deemed the story compelling, while the writing of the more detailed sidequests was positively highlighted by Video Games Chronicle as some of the best of the series. Hardcore Gamer praised

9720-467: The entertainment industry (such as films and television ) require long working hours and dedication from their employees, such as willingness to relocate and/or required to develop games that do not appeal to their personal taste. The creative rewards of work in the entertainment business attracts labor to the industry, creating a competitive labor market that demands a high level of commitment and performance from employees. Industry communities, such as

9855-676: The first release from Avalanche unrelated to Disney Interactive Studios and its products. Development commenced in 2018, while pre-release gameplay footage was leaked onto the internet in the same year. The storyline was designed to take place in a period untouched by established Wizarding World characters, offering players the opportunity to immerse themselves in their own distinct universe. Hogwarts Legacy garnered significant anticipation upon announcement in 2020. Prior to its release, it attracted controversy due to Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling 's views on transgender people and accusations of including antisemitic tropes , leading to calls for

9990-516: The first video game-specific union, Game Workers Unite Australia, was formed in December 2021 under Professionals Australia to become active in 2022. In Canada, in a historic move, video game workers in Edmonton unanimously voted to unionize for the first time in June 2022. In January 2023, after not being credited in The Last of Us HBO adaptation, Bruce Straley called for unionization of

10125-421: The form of combat, quests, and exploration. Player characters can establish friendships with non-player characters (NPCs). As these relationships grow, schoolmates become companions who can accompany players on their journey, expand their abilities, and offer unique companion quests as players learn their stories. Each of the four Hogwarts Houses— Gryffindor , Hufflepuff , Ravenclaw , and Slytherin —also offers

10260-403: The four Hogwarts Houses . As players progress, their player character learns to cast spells, brew potions, and master combat abilities, eventually developing their own special combat style. Through in-game challenges, the player character can earn experience points to gain levels, which allows the player to access and upgrade different spells, talents, and abilities. These challenges come in

10395-511: The game suggests that goblins, as a minority, are the villains for fighting against their oppressors and seeking equal rights and freedom. In an article of The Times of Israel , the portrayal of goblins in both the game and the larger Harry Potter universe was defended by some. The non-governmental organisation Campaign Against Antisemitism argued that the depiction is consistent with how goblins have been portrayed in Western literature over

10530-417: The game with the eighth-highest concurrent player peak overall. Due to Steam 's rules on separating pre-orders and official releases, Hogwarts Legacy occupied the first four spots on the platform's sales chart at some point during its first week of release. Hogwarts Legacy became the bestselling game of 2023 in the United States, breaking a 14-year games industry streak of either a Call of Duty or

10665-439: The game, a specifically designed DualSense controller, the "Revelio Controller", was released at the game's launch in the U.S. and UK as a limited edition. During development, Troy Leavitt faced backlash in February 2021 for his social media posts supporting cultural appropriation and Gamergate . Shortly after, Leavitt resigned from his roles at Avalanche Software and the Hogwarts Legacy project. He stated that his departure

10800-407: The game. As a result, some streamers decided not to stream the game at all, with Polygon noting that it occurred either in favour of ongoing protests or for fear of harassment. The game's viewership on live-streaming service Twitch peaked at a record-breaking 1.28 million concurrent viewers on 7 February. The boycott was declared unsuccessful out of multiple perspectives; Den of Geek stated that

10935-404: The gaming industry, while a 2017 IGDA survey found that the female demographic in game development had risen to about 20%. Taking into account that a 2017 ESA survey found 41% of video game players were female, this represented a significant gender gap in game development. The male-dominated industry, most who have grown up playing video games and are part of the video game culture , can create

11070-457: The industry by working long hours. Because crunch time tends to come from a combination of corporate practices as well as peer influence, the term "crunch culture" is often used to discuss video game development settings where crunch time may be seen as the norm rather than the exception. The use of crunch time as a workplace standard gained attention first in 2004, when Erin Hoffman exposed

11205-473: The internet forum ResetEra banned all discussion of it. In its own review, Wired gave it the lowest possible score, stating that it was mediocre and harmful. The review, which was noted as politically focused, drew criticism. In response to the controversy, the studio added that the development focused on creating a "rich and diverse" world that would represent all groups of people. According to PinkNews , transgender character Sirona Ryan's inclusion

11340-415: The issues with Rowling seemed to have minimal effect on the game's overall sales figures. According to PC Games , the sales figures attested to the ineffectiveness of boycott efforts aimed at Hogwarts Legacy . Michael Deacon of The Telegraph noted that it had the opposite effect and failed to garner the attention of non-activists; and Fox News claimed the game had beaten cancel culture . With

11475-431: The lack of respect that the new management gave to programmers, they used their knowledge of how Atari VCS game cartridges were programmed to create their own games for the system, founding Activision in 1979 to sell these. Atari took legal action to try to block the sale of these games, but the companies ultimately settled, with Activision agreeing to pay a portion of their sales as a license fee to Atari for developing for

11610-406: The launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Hogwarts Legacy , the developers included an arachnophobia mode that replaces the regular spider design. The new spider design features a more cartoonish look, removes their legs, and pays homage to the Harry Potter books with the addition of rollerskates on their feet. To accompany the release of PlayStation 5 Pro , Hogwarts Legacy

11745-424: The launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions offered the "Professor Ronen cosmetic set," with seven extra items obtainable through Twitch Drops as well. Shortly after release, game director Alan Tew stated that the team focused only on the launch and did not yet plan to release additional content. In May 2024, Avalanche Studios announced a major update for 6 June, which added player-requested features like

11880-477: The level of atmosphere and visual presentation, finding it made aimless activities like walking around Hogwarts enjoyable. The surrounding areas set in the Scottish Highlands received similar praise, though some thought that other areas were not as engaging. The gameplay received mixed reactions. PC Gamer praised Legacy ' s straightforward yet cohesive systems, such as the wizard duels and

12015-622: The magic village of Hogsmeade , Forbidden Forest , or the Room of Requirement . Hogsmeade features establishments such as The Three Broomsticks Inn, a gathering place for villagers and students; the Hog's Head, an inn with a less favourable reputation; and Zonko's, a store selling joke merchandise. The Room of Requirement features environmental customisation elements; players can modify the room with multiple objects as they progress. It can be entirely personalised, and its architecture can be changed. The room

12150-491: The map as they please. The different areas present various activities and enemies, with certain aspects locked behind progression milestones in the main plot. During exploration, players have the option to obtain gear by searching for treasure chests. The Revelio spell supports the player's exploration by acting as a scanning tool to discover secrets. To travel around the map, players can choose between various options. Players may use Floo Powder to fast travel , or can fly across

12285-451: The map with a broom after participating in flying class. Attending classes is one of the main elements of the game. Classes are attended as a part of the story, advancing gameplay mechanics . Progressing through the game causes the interior and exterior of the castle to change visually and match the seasons. Hogwarts Legacy is set in the late 1800s, taking place in several Wizarding World locations such as Hogwarts Castle, Hogsmeade, and

12420-445: The matters that were raised. Over the subsequent two years we have carefully listened to and learned from our employees, working to ensure every person on the team feels supported. In 2020 we are more passionate than ever to continue to develop our inclusive culture, and we are determined to stand up for all of our staff." The following day, Rocksteady posted on social media what they claimed to be an "unsolicited" letter written by some of

12555-526: The monthly sales charts for February 2023. In the UK, Hogwarts Legacy debuted and remained atop of the charts for five consecutive weeks, and nine weeks in total. Analysts compared the first-week sales to Elden Ring , noting that physical and digital sales are up by 80% and 88%, respectively. In Japan, Hogwarts Legacy debuted atop the software sales chart, with the PlayStation 5 version selling 67,196 physical copies. It remained one additional week at

12690-499: The most relevant being their professors and fellow students. Professor Eleazar Fig, a wizard who teaches magic theory at Hogwarts, is a central ally throughout the player's adventure. Other characters the protagonist meets include Hogwarts students Amit Thakkar ( Asif Ali ) and Everett Clopton ( Luke Youngblood ), Professors Onai (Kandace Caine) and Shah (Sohm Kapila), as well as headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black ( Simon Pegg ) and Professor Matilda Weasley ( Lesley Nicol ). The protagonist

12825-559: The movement again called out for the industry to unionize. The movement argued that Telltale had not given any warning to its 250 employees let go, having hired additional staff as recently as a week prior, and left them without pensions or health-care options; it was further argued that the studio considered this a closure rather than layoffs, as to get around failure to notify required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 preceding layoffs. The situation

12960-448: The nature of the video game culture. The industry also is recognized to have an ageism issue, discriminating against the hiring and retention of older developers. A 2016 IGDA survey found only 3% of developers were over 50 years old, while at least two-thirds were between 20 and 34; these numbers show a far lower average age compared to the U.S. national average of about 41.9 that same year. While discrimination by age in hiring practices

13095-540: The news, there have typically been followup discussions towards the potential to form a union. A survey performed by the International Game Developers Association in 2014 found that more than half of the 2,200 developers surveyed favored unionization. A similar survey of over 4,000 game developers run by the Game Developers Conference in early 2019 found that 47% of respondents felt the video game industry should unionize. In 2016, voice actors in

13230-541: The performance was affected by technical problems, including slow loading of textures, frame rate inconsistencies, visual glitches, clipping objects, and inconsistent lighting. GameStar reported performance problems overall while reviewing the PC version, especially in areas with many NPCs, but said the first patch alleviated some of these problems. As a result of the controversy surrounding Rowling, some publications chose not to cover or review Hogwarts Legacy , and

13365-458: The personalised Room of Requirement. Eurogamer Germany said the attention to detail motivated the player to explore the world. They highlighted the music and were impressed by the design of some of the quests and puzzles. Destructoid complimented the range of activities and unlockables but found the game sometimes unimpressive, contributing to the experience of being wrapped in an unsatisfatory open world environment. NME similarly wrote that

13500-560: The platform. Within two weeks, Hogwarts Legacy sold more than 12 million copies and generated $ 850 million in global sales revenue. As of 5 May 2023, its revenue reached $ 1 billion, and by end of October 2024, global sales totaled 30 million copies. Hogwarts Legacy received praise for its combat, world design, characters, variety of content, and faithfulness to the source material, but criticism for its lack of innovation as an open-world game and technical problems. It received various accolades, including nominations for two D.I.C.E. Awards ,

13635-524: The potion reveals gear chests on the map. The Dark Arts Pack , available in Deluxe and Collector's editions or as downloadable content  (DLC,) includes an exclusive mount, clothing set, and a new battle arena. The Dark Arts Battle Arena expands the two available battle arenas available in the base game. From the early access release on 7 February 2023, to 24 February 2023, players could earn five exclusive cosmetic items via Twitch Drops. Additionally,

13770-456: The power for themselves. Ranrok then locates Isidora's repository and absorbs the ancient power, transforming himself into a dragon. Fig is mortally wounded, and the protagonist battles the dragon, ending the goblin rebellion by destroying Ranrok and doing as they chose earlier. Regardless of their choice, Fig dies, and Headmaster Black and Professor Weasley hold a eulogy in honour of him. The protagonist returns to finish regular school studies, as

13905-694: The present, being a de facto rate used for most digital storefronts for third-party developers to offer their games on the platform. In recent years, larger publishers have acquired several third-party developers. While these development teams are now technically "in-house", they often continue to operate in an autonomous manner (with their own culture and work practices). For example, Activision acquired Raven (1997); Neversoft (1999), which merged with Infinity Ward in 2014; Z-Axis (2001); Treyarch (2001); Luxoflux (2002); Shaba (2002); Infinity Ward (2003) and Vicarious Visions (2005). All these developers continue operating much as they did before acquisition,

14040-414: The primary differences being exclusivity and financial details. Publishers tend to be more forgiving of their own development teams going over budget (or missing deadlines) than third-party developers. A developer may not be the primary entity creating a piece of software, usually providing an external software tool which helps organize (or use) information for the primary software product. Such tools may be

14175-429: The publisher's wishes generally override those of the developer. Work for hire studios solely execute the publishers vision. The business arrangement between the developer and publisher is governed by a contract, which specifies a list of milestones intended to be delivered over a period of time. By updating its milestones, the publisher verifies that work is progressing quickly enough to meet its deadline and can direct

14310-467: The publishers. While this had some effects on a few games within the industry, it brought to the forefront the question of whether video game developers should unionize. A grassroots movement, Game Workers Unite , was established around 2017 to discuss and debate issues related to unionization of game developers. The group came to the forefront during the March 2018 Game Developers Conference by holding

14445-448: The recreation of Hogwarts Castle. GamesRadar+ complimented the world as being faithful to the existing Wizarding World lore, and Destructoid appreciated the overall presentation and positive synergy with the universe. Other reviewers echoed these points, with NME writing that the world was probably the most fitting depiction for fans. Further praise was directed at the castle's level of detail. Push Square highlighted

14580-511: The repository and exploit it for his own ends. To locate it, he collaborates with a group of dark wizards led by Victor Rookwood, a descendant of one of the Keepers. After the protagonist completes all trials, they receive one final task from the Keepers: to create a special type of magic wand from the artefacts found at the Pensieves. Professor Fig sends the protagonist to Gerbold Ollivander,

14715-543: The right to hold her personal viewpoint. Shortly before the release of Hogwarts Legacy , a website was created with the purpose of targeting Twitch streamers who played the game. The web tool in question filtered accounts streaming the game. While the page was taken down soon after, some streamers had already been harassed. Following Hogwarts Legacy ' s early-access release on 7 February 2023, some content creators and streamers were criticised and harassed by others opposed to Rowling's views for promoting and broadcasting

14850-494: The sixth biggest launch for a video game since the creation of the European Monthly Charts . On Steam, Hogwarts Legacy reached a peak of over 489,000 concurrent players during its early access. By then, it had become the second-highest player count peak for any single-player game, behind only Cyberpunk 2077 with over 1 million concurrent players. Hogwarts Legacy peaked at over 879,000 players, making it

14985-495: The story as riveting, but felt it faltered towards the end. PCMag in particular criticised the decision to have the protagonist act out a " Chosen One " role. Other reviewers found the narrative to be lacklustre and, at times, illogical. The characters were mostly well received. Windows Central described them as interesting, noting that they added depth to the world. CNET complimented them for being well-written and positively remarked upon their ethnic diversity, which

15120-545: The target of sexual harassment. This can be coupled from similar harassment from external groups, such as during the 2014 Gamergate controversy . Major investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct that went unchecked by management, as well as discrimination by employers, have been brought up against Riot Games , Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard in the late 2010s and early 2020s, alongside smaller studios and individual developers. However, while other entertainment industries have had similar exposure through

15255-623: The top spot and, as of 14 May 2023, accumulated a total of 172,820 physical copies sold. The PlayStation 4 version sold a total of 44,947 physical copies by 4 June 2023. Lastly, as of 4 February 2023, the Nintendo Switch version achieved a total of 95,156 physical copies sold. Legacy sold more than 600,000 copies in Germany within a period of two and a half weeks, making it one of the most successful games of both 2022 and 2023. In Europe, Hogwarts Legacy ' s launch sales placed it as

15390-484: The toxic nature of the video game culture. This racial diversity issue has similar ties to the gender one, and similar methods to result both have been suggested, such as improving grade school education, developing games that appeal beyond the white, male gamer stereotype, and identifying toxic behavior in both video game workplaces and online communities that perpetuate discrimination against gender and race. In regards to LGBT and other gender or sexual orientations,

15525-433: The transgendered community", "discussing a woman in a derogatory or sexual manner with other colleagues", and sexual harassment "in the form of unwanted advances, leering at parts of a woman’s body, and inappropriate comments in the office". Rocksteady said to The Guardian , "In 2018 we received a letter from some of our female employees expressing concerns they had at that time, and we immediately took firm measures to address

15660-487: The use of crunch time at Electronic Arts , a situation known as the "EA Spouses" case. A similar "Rockstar Spouses" case gained further attention in 2010 over working conditions at Rockstar San Diego . Since then, there has generally been negative perception of crunch time from most of the industry as well as from its consumers and other media. Game development had generally been a predominately male workforce. In 1989, according to Variety , women constituted only 3% of

15795-508: The video game industry typically shares the same demographics as with the larger population based on a 2005 IGDA survey. Those in the LGBT community do not find workplace issues with their identity, though work to improve the representation of LGBT themes within video games in the same manner as with racial minorities. However, LGBT developers have also come under the same type of harassment from external groups like women and racial minorities due to

15930-678: The video game industry. Whereas some video game employees believe they should follow the craft-based model used by SAG-AFTRA which would unionize based on job function, others feel an industry-wide union, regardless of job position, would be better. Starting in 2021, several smaller game studios in the United States began efforts to unionize. These mostly involved teams doing quality assurance rather than developers. These studios included three QA studios under Blizzard Entertainment : Raven Software , Blizzard Albany , and Proletariat; and Zenimax Media 's QA team. Microsoft , which had previously acquired Zenimax and announced plans to acquire Blizzard via

16065-445: The views of its universe's creator. Writing for GameSpot , transgender YouTuber Jessie Earl wrote that those on each side of the debate should come to their own conclusions and that, while it was not wrong to want to play Hogwarts Legacy , those who did should not claim to be supportive of the trans community. In response to the controversy, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's President, David Haddad, expressed that Rowling has

16200-427: The wandmaker, in order to craft the special wand. As the protagonist leaves Ollivander's, they are ambushed by Victor, who proposes an alliance against the goblins. The protagonist refuses, resulting in a battle in which the protagonist manages to defeat him. Shortly after, the protagonist and Professor Fig find the repository intact, and the protagonist makes their choice between keeping the magic sealed away or absorbing

16335-504: The workforce in video games is estimated to be from contract labor. Similar to other tech industries, video game developers are typically not unionized . This is a result of the industry being driven more by creativity and innovation rather than production, the lack of distinction between management and employees in the white-collar area, and the pace at which the industry moves that makes union actions difficult to plan out. However, when situations related to crunch time become prevalent in

16470-455: Was a founding investor in the studio, holding 25.1% of the company's shares. Rocksteady's first release was the 2006 first-person shooter Urban Chaos: Riot Response , developed using the Havok engine and published by Eidos Interactive for PlayStation 2 and Xbox . After Eidos obtained the rights to make a Batman game in spring 2007, they approached Rocksteady who presented their take on

16605-668: Was argued to be "exploitive", as Telltale had been known to force its employees to frequently work under "crunch time" to deliver its games. By the end of 2018, a United Kingdom trade union, Game Workers Unite UK, an affiliate of the Game Workers Unite movement, had been legally established. Following Activision Blizzard 's financial report for the previous quarter in February 2019, the company said that they would be laying off around 775 employees (about 8% of their workforce) despite having record profits for that quarter. Further calls for unionization came from this news, including

16740-444: Was codenamed Stones but was shelved internally at the direction of studio owner Warner Bros. to work on a multiplayer title based on Suicide Squad . In August 2020, Rocksteady announced their next game titled Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League . The game had been in production at Rocksteady since 2017, who were taking over development following the cancellation of the previous iteration at WB Games Montréal in late 2016. Over

16875-426: Was delayed twice, first to 2022, and later to 10 February 2023. The PS4 and Xbox One versions were also delayed twice, from its February 2023 launch to May. A Nintendo Switch port by Shiver Entertainment was released on 14 November 2023. It was originally scheduled for 25 July 2023. The game was released in three versions: Standard, Deluxe, and Collector's Edition. The Deluxe Edition includes extra content like

17010-404: Was developed by utilising Unreal Engine 4 . J. K. Rowling , the author of the Harry Potter series , was not directly involved in its development. However, Warner Bros. acknowledged that her literary works served as the basis for all projects in the Wizarding World. The total budget was estimated at $ 150 million. Lead writer Moira Squier stated that the story was purposefully placed in

17145-400: Was dismissed by some activists as insincere, while unnamed sources involved in the development allegedly stated that the character added nothing substantial and was solely created to avert criticism. On 23 February 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that Hogwarts Legacy had sold more than 12 million copies and generated $ 850 million in global sales. On 5 May 2023, it had accumulated

17280-915: Was echoed by PCMag . IGN praised the companions for their characterization and roles. The cast performances received similar compliments; PCMag wrote that their quality made conversations feel natural. On the other hand, Video Games Chronicle considered certain NPCs outside of Hogwarts to be lifeless. Hardcore Gamer wrote that the protagonist's rivals, Ranrok and Rookwood, failed as compelling antagonists and were inferior compared to other established Harry Potter villains. Reviewers were critical of Legacy ' s technical aspects. PC Gamer experienced brief but frequent pauses at doors, as well as frame rate drops during uneventful moments. Eurogamer Germany noted shading issues and rigid facial expressions on character models , and CNET thought that their eye movements occasionally felt unnatural. Many noted that

17415-584: Was followed by Batman: Arkham City in 2011, and Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015. Both of which received critical acclaim, though the PC version of the game, developed externally by Iron Galaxy , was panned for its technical issues at launch. The studio also experimented with developing virtual reality video games in 2016, releasing the spin-off game Batman: Arkham VR for the PlayStation VR . Subsequently, 2016 they started working on their first unannounced original multiplayer puzzle-solving game. It

17550-452: Was generally praised. PCGamesN called it the strongest aspect, and The A.V. Club deemed it the most interesting feature, expressing that confrontations with greater difficulty provided genuinely thrilling experiences. GameSpot described the combat and spells as giving a notable feeling of control to the player, though they criticised the spell-selecting controls and the unremarkable enemy design. Game Informer similarly lamented

17685-546: Was not a response to the criticism. Warner Bros. did not comment on the situation. Following the release of the first gameplay trailer in March 2022, Hogwarts Legacy received criticism for basing it in the Goblin Rebellion era of Wizarding World history, with the game's storyline focusing on the player suppressing a goblin rebellion. The portrayal of goblins in the Wizarding World has previously been acussed of being based on antisemitic tropes . Critics argued that

17820-512: Was one of the best-performing games of 2023. Prior to its release, Hogwarts Legacy was nominated for "Most Anticipated Game" at the Game Awards 2022 and for "Most Wanted Game" at the Golden Joystick Awards 2022 . The game made several lists of the most anticipated games of 2023: CNET , CNN , Den of Geek , GameSpot , IGN , PC Games , NPR , Polygon , Time , VentureBeat , and VG247 . As

17955-508: Was presented in partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conducted by composer Lorne Balfe . Before any official statement on the development or release of Hogwarts Legacy , gameplay footage leaked in 2018. Hogwarts Legacy was officially announced at a PlayStation 5 event in September 2020, with a planned release for PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5, Windows , Xbox One , and Xbox Series X/S in 2021. It

18090-696: Was to balance the original composition with the existing music of the Wizarding World films. One of the songs, Overture to the Unwritten , was released prior to the soundtrack. The song was performed by the Seven Springs Symphony Orchestra & Choir as a live capture of a 54-piece orchestra. In December 2022, the release of the soundtrack was announced to happen in February 2023. It was released as two digital double albums totaling 75 tracks: Hogwarts Legacy (Original Video Game Soundtrack) and Hogwarts Legacy (Study Themes from

18225-495: Was to create a welcoming atmosphere that fosters a sense of nostalgia and belonging. Lead designer Troy Leavitt stated that the studio had the flexibility to select the elements that fans were most enthusiastic about. He also mentioned that Hogwarts Legacy was designed to give fans the "wizarding world experience" they always desired while reading the books or watching the movies, without any particular agenda or message. Also working in game design, Troy Johnson elaborated that with

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