From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


I'm scared. It's not a Thursday, and yet there's a free game on Epic.
Even more, it's not a crappy Indie game either; there was some actual
money spent on its development. Is this a sign of the End Times upon
us?


* Hogwart's Legacy
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/hogwarts-legacy
You know; that Harry Potter game without Harry Potter.
It's fine; it's got nice visuals, solid-enough game play
and a big world to explore. It does take place in the
Potterverse though, and thus has all the silliness that
implies. Also, you may already have this in your Epic
library since it was a freebie back in December. But if
you didn't grab it then, you got another 24 hours (or so)
to claim it now.


I guess by firing all those employees Tim Sweeney found a bit of spare
cash to spend on free games? Well, their lose is our gain, I guess.
But this out-of-schedule freebie still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Um, you're like two days late. ;)


Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm scared. It's not a Thursday, and yet there's a free game on Epic.
Even more, it's not a crappy Indie game either; there was some actual
money spent on its development. Is this a sign of the End Times upon
us?

* Hogwart's Legacy
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/hogwarts-legacy
You know; that Harry Potter game without Harry Potter.
It's fine; it's got nice visuals, solid-enough game play
and a big world to explore. It does take place in the
Potterverse though, and thus has all the silliness that
implies. Also, you may already have this in your Epic
library since it was a freebie back in December. But if
you didn't grab it then, you got another 24 hours (or so)
to claim it now.

I guess by firing all those employees Tim Sweeney found a bit of spare
cash to spend on free games? Well, their lose is our gain, I guess.
But this out-of-schedule freebie still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

--
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." --Romans 12:12. May the 4th eve be with you!
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sun, 3 May 2026 22:40:52 -0000 (UTC), ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) said
this thing:

Um, you're like two days late. ;)

Nope, it was still free when I posted (although I'll admit I didn't
post it as soon as it was announced. As I said, it was the usual
Thursday freebie so it caught me by surprise too!) But if you were
quick on the draw, you could have nabbed this one.

Or just wait until it rolls around again as a freebie. It's already
been offered for $0 twice; no reason to think there won't be a third
time!

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 22:40 this Sunday (GMT):

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm scared. It's not a Thursday, and yet there's a free game on Epic.
Even more, it's not a crappy Indie game either; there was some actual
money spent on its development. Is this a sign of the End Times upon
us?

* Hogwart's Legacy
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/hogwarts-legacy
You know; that Harry Potter game without Harry Potter.
It's fine; it's got nice visuals, solid-enough game play
and a big world to explore. It does take place in the
Potterverse though, and thus has all the silliness that
implies. Also, you may already have this in your Epic
library since it was a freebie back in December. But if
you didn't grab it then, you got another 24 hours (or so)
to claim it now.

I guess by firing all those employees Tim Sweeney found a bit of spare
cash to spend on free games? Well, their lose is our gain, I guess.
But this out-of-schedule freebie still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Um, you're like two days late. ;)

And my response is two days late, also D:
I find it funny that HL is being given away, considering how much press
it was getting when it came out :P
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Tue, 5 May 2026 19:10:09 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> said this thing:

I find it funny that HL is being given away, considering how much press
it was getting when it came out :P

From everything I've read, it actually did fairly well, both in terms
of reception and finances. Apparently it's revenue topped $1 billion
back in 2023; not bad. And they've kept that gravy train running with
new expansions.

Why is it being made free? I can see at least two reasons.

1) The bulk of the revenue now is being made through
DLC/MTX. The people who are most likely to buy the game
have already done so. But if you can get some new players
into the game, that adds to the pool of people who are
likely to buy new DLC. Thus, giving away the base game
essentially costs the publisher nothing (because they
weren't going to make that revenue anyway), and
potentially increases the number of customers for
the DLC.

2) Advertising for the soon-to-be-released Harry Potter
television series. Keep people aware of the brand --and
remind them why they loved the franchise-- so that when
the show actually comes out, they'll be more likely to
watch it.


Potentially, it may also be Epic dipping its finger into the pot,
trying to stir up more activity for their platform. Harry Potter
probably attracts more younger users who are likely more
platform-agnostic (e.g., they don't care as much that the game is on
Epic rather than Steam). As Fortnite continues to lose uses, Epic may
be pushing to keep Epic central to that audience. "Hey, you may not
like Fortnite, but we got Harry Potter for free..."


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2