A Parent’s Guide to Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a multiplayer fantasy sports game based in the magical universe of the “Wizarding World.” Much like Quidditch in the books and movies, the game puts your kids in the robes of witching and wizarding students competing on flying broomsticks, as they try to score goals against opposing teams. Quidditch matches are a popular feature of the “Harry Potter” world, but is this game about boisterous sporting contests appropriate for your family?

Is Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Appropriate for Kids?

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is rated T for Teen by the ESRB, meaning it’s generally suitable for ages 13 and up. The game’s Content Descriptors include Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Language, and Mild Blood. The rating for Quidditch Champions also includes two Interactive Elements to let parents know about the ability to communicate during online competitive play (Users Interact) and to purchase downloadable items in the game using real money (In-Game Purchases).

According to the Rating Summary, broom-riding players compete to score goals, swooping past and against one another. They can shift between players and positions during each game; one club-wielding defensive position (Beater) involves tackling opponents or hitting them with a ball called a Bludger. Players’ health bars deplete after each tackle and hit. Successful hits or tackles result in dizzy stars and brief stunning effects.

One of the victory celebrations (Bludger Hit) depicts a character hit in the face, with a tooth and blood trail flying out from the mouth. Another victory celebration (Puking Pastilles) shows a character vomiting. The word “sh*t” appears in the game.

Where Can I Play Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions and How Much Does It Cost?

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is available as a download on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. The game costs $29.99, and the Deluxe Edition costs $39.99.

The Deluxe Edition includes the full game as well as extra digital items in the form of Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor House Packs which feature extra skins, clothes, and emblems as well as 2,000 gold to spend in-game.

While the digital game is releasing on September 3, the physical (boxed) Deluxe Edition will release on November 8, also costing $39.99. A Nintendo Switch version is expected to release before the end of the year.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is rated T for Teen by the ESRB, meaning it’s generally suitable for ages 13 and up.

Also of note, PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to download the Standard Edition of the game at no extra charge from September 3 to September 30 and keep it from then onwards for as long as they maintain their subscription.

What is Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions About?

Anyone who has enjoyed a “Harry Potter” book or movie will be familiar with the broomstick sport of Quidditch. It serves as an airborne analog for elite soccer in the wizarding and witching world.

Quidditch is a team sport that takes place above a large oval arena. In Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, players take on specific defensive and attacking roles as they compete to control four different balls. Mainly, the players are trying to score by hitting the Quaffle ball through three skyborne hoops, while avoiding hits from two Bludger balls, which opposing defending players gleefully bat around to dislodge opponents.

A specialist player on each side (Seeker) chases an elusive magical ball – the Golden Snitch – which must be captured, which will end the game and potentially offer a winning number of bonus points to the team that caught it. This is a rough and tumble sport played fiercely and at high speed.

How Does Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Play?

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions includes both multiplayer and single player experiences.

In online modes, players can team up and play cooperatively and competitively in a variety of challenges to earn tournament victories. In the multiplayer mode, your witches and wizards can play with up to two friends, or by themselves against others around the “Wizarding World.”

In Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions‘ single-player “career mode,” players strive for team victories to earn the right to travel to magical arenas around the world to take on more elite opponents. Keep in mind that, even for the single player experiences, Quidditch Champions will require an internet connection.

Regardless of whether you play yourself or online with others, players can choose to fly as famed “Harry Potter” characters as their avatars, like Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry himself. Your kids can also design their own avatar, donning Wizarding World-inspired clothing. As they gain experience and victories, players can use free earned in-game currency to upgrade their broomsticks and buy new clothing items and accessories.

In the career mode, players switch between the on-field characters depending on whether they are attacking or defending, or if they are focused on a particular strategy. Meanwhile, your kids will have a dedicated position when playing online and in multiplayer modes.

While attacking, the trick is to dodge incoming tackles and Bludger attacks, while guiding the Quaffle into scoring hoops (awarding 10 points per goal). In defense, players use their bodies to melee tackle opponents and save goals or the range-attack Bludgers to disrupt goal attempts. Power-ups like extra-charged throwing strength can be earned by flying through specific in-field rings.

Lastly, Seekers must guide themselves through a series of circular targets in order to fill up the Golden Snitch’s energy meter, which then releases the magical ball for players to chase and catch, effectively ending the game. The first team to reach 100 points wins.

Manage Your Kids’ Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Experiences

There are plenty of tools and resources to help you set reasonable parameters for your kids’ video game experiences as they prepare to enter the next arena.

Of course, it’s always a good idea to check the ESRB-assigned rating information, including a game’s Rating Summary when available, to make sure it’s appropriate for your children. If possible, the best way to learn about a game is to try it out before giving your kids permission to play. You can also learn more about a game with some online research, especially online streams, trailers, and gameplay videos.

As mentioned, it’s also important for you to familiarize yourself with the robust set of parental controls, which are available on virtually any device that plays video games. These allow you to manage what your kids play (based on the ESRB-assigned rating information), when and for how long, with whom, and whether they can spend money on new games or in-game purchases. You can find step-by-step parental control guides at ParentalTools.org.

If you’re looking for more tips about video games and online safety, visit ESRB’s Family Gaming Guide.

Colin Campbell is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The Economist, The Guardian, Polygon, IGN, Gamesindustry.biz and more.