Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Changes Its Famous Sport In One Major Way

When the world saw the first trailer for "Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions," almost everyone had the same reaction, and it wasn't exactly great for the game. Some fans were unimpressed by the game's visuals, while others expressed reluctance to support the "Harry Potter" franchise in light of author J.K. Rowling's repeated controversial comments against the transgender community. Even before the reveal trailer, developer Unbroken Studios had quite a few obstacles in its path with the game, like fans still being upset that Quidditch was one of the details "Hogwarts Legacy" left on the cutting room floor. Now the devs have injected some excitement into the game by introducing a major rules change to Quidditch that, if we're being honest, the sport has always needed.

The rules for winning the game are going to be different in "Quidditch Champions" than they are in the rest of the "Harry Potter" franchise. According to the "Harry Potter" books, catching the Golden Snitch is worth 150 points and ends the game on the spot. Unbroken Studios has revealed that in "Quidditch Champions," the Snitch isn't going to essentially make the rest of the game pointless by being so valuable. It'll be worth 30 points, and instead of the game ending when the Snitch is caught, teams will be battling towards a goal of 100 points.

The rule changes make sense, and not just because the Quidditch rules were always a little wonky on the page. Unbroken Studios has gone with a system that ensures every role on a team matters equally and that matches should clip along fast enough to stay exciting for players. But what some fans may not know is that Unbroken Studios is essentially borrowing from the playbook of a different Quidditch adaptation.

For years, a real-life version of Quidditch has been played by people all over the world. It's called Quadball, and people started playing it back in 2005. As you can imagine, it didn't take long for Quadball players to realize that the basic rules of Quidditch described in the "Harry Potter" books don't quite make for a functioning non-magical sport. Quadball significantly changed the rules, and Unbroken Studios may have been inspired by those real-world alterations.

In Quadball, catching the Snitch — represented by a flag that's attached to the waistband of a runner — doesn't end the game. The Snitch doesn't even start on the field at the beginning of the game. At the 20-minute mark, the seeker and the flag runner take to the field while everyone else continues playing normally. The flag is worth 35 points, and teams are trying to reach a set point threshold to win the game, which is typically 60 points over whatever the lead score is when the seeker takes the field. Doesn't that all sound a little familiar?

It makes sense that Unbroken Studios would take a cue from people who've actually been playing Quidditch for nearly two decades. Despite the flak that the reveal trailer for "Quidditch Champions" caught, the devs are clearly trying to make the game feel as snappy and engaging as the latest "FIFA" or "Madden NFL" game. At the very least, these tweaks could help it beat out the few other versions of Quidditch we've gotten in other "Harry Potter" games in the past.

For diehard "Harry Potter" fans, it's probably going to feel a little strange to have Quidditch games that continue on long after the Snitch is caught. For gamers, however, Unbroken Studio may have made the exact right balance decision, and explaining these rule changes ahead of the game's September 3 release date might get some more people to show up on day one. The real question is whether or not "Quidditch Champions" will be able to win over the Quadball player demographic — or fans who have turned their backs on "Harry Potter" as a whole.