Summary

  • A Hogwarts Legacy player discovers a glitch allowing their character to swim through the air outside the castle, resembling a water bug.
  • Fans propose imaginative explanations for the gravity-defying glitch.
  • The glitch comes as Hogwarts Legacy approaches its second anniversary.

A Hogwarts Legacy player has shared the discovery of a strange glitch that lets them traverse the air outside the castle not by flying through it, but by swimming through it. While Hogwarts Legacy has had its share of glitches, this is one that seems like it could actually fit into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Hogwarts Legacy's second anniversary is just around the corner, falling on February 10, 2025. In the action RPG's run over the past two years, it's received generally favorable reviews from fans and professional critics alike, and though its popularity has dropped off since its release, it had sold an impressive 12 million units by the two-week point since its launch date. Its critical and commercial success aside, the game has had numerous glitches, including this newly discovered one.

5 Ways To Be A True Slytherin In Hogwarts Legacy
5 Ways To Be A True Slytherin In Hogwarts Legacy

For players who want to fully embody the Slytherin mindset in their next Hogwarts Legacy playthrough, these methods will help with the process.

1
By 

In a gameplay video shared on Reddit by user amarquis_1, the glitch is obvious, as the player's character is seen in an area outside the confines of Hogwarts Castle performing a swimming motion as they glide painfully slowly just a few feet off the ground. Other swimming-on-land bugs in Hogwarts Legacy have been discovered in the past, though they tend to happen when the player has already been swimming in water and don't typically lift characters high off the ground. The player who captured this more recent video did not share what they were doing when this glitch occurred, and while water surrounds the narrow land bridge their character is floating above, it's also at a significantly lower depth than the player character's location.

Hogwarts Legacy Player Swims Through the Air

Another fan of the game who had reportedly run into a similar bug in the past explained that it was caused by a loading error and suggested that if the player were to exit to the game's menu and re-enter the game, they would find their character back on land and no longer swimming. Still, others have had some fun trying to explain a canon reason for why the player was able to defy gravity without the use of a broom, ranging from Hogwarts Legacy's version of the leviosa charm to an overdose of billywig stings.

The appearance of the glitch is particularly timely, as it was recently reported that Hogwarts Legacy is getting a DLC and a sequel. Details of both projects are particularly scarce at the moment, though there is speculation that the DLC may arrive before the end of this year.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy Tag Page Cover Art
9 /10

Hogwarts Legacy
Display card tags widget
Action
RPG
Display card system widget
Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 super greyscale 8-bit logo PC-1
Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget
Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
Display card main info widget
Released
February 10, 2023
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s)
Avalanche Software
Publisher(s)
Warner Bros. Games
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Cross-Platform Play
Hogwarts Legacy doesn't have crossplay or crossplatform support
Cross Save
you can freely use your saved data between each console as long as you are connected to the internet and signed into the same account where the saved data was created
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. For the first time, experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it.

Explore an Open World
The wizarding world awaits you. Freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area.

Be the Witch or Wizard You Want to be
Learn spells, brew potions, grow plants, and tend to magical beasts along your journey. Get sorted into your house, forge relationships, and master skills to become the witch or wizard you want to be Experience a New Wizarding World Adventure
Experience the wizarding world in an unexplored era to uncover a hidden truth from its past. Battle against trolls, Dark Wizards, goblins, and more as you face a dangerous villain threatening the fate of the wizarding world.

Franchise
Harry Potter
Steam Deck Compatibility
Verified
Genre(s)
Action, RPG
How Long To Beat
26 Hours
X|S Optimized
yes
PS Plus Availability
Extra & Premium
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty