Massively^™

We can all agree that the concept of a Harry Potter MMO has probably been shopped around the gaming industry a few times by this point. This has of course lead to rumors of such a game being in development. Recently these rumors -- and they are just that for the time being -- have popped up again after Turbine received 40 million in funding from various sources, which included some links to the Harry Potter franchise.

Being a topical blog, Mystic Worlds tossed its hat into the Harry Potter MMO ring, saying that the game may not be what some people are expecting -- if it's actually being made. The theory being that because the books are focused primarily on a younger audience the games will follow a similar path. If Turbine was to make a Harry Potter MMO chances are likely it would be a fairly straight-forward -- and well made -- adaptation that would be tailored towards a younger audience. It would be nice if the game was set after the original books and in a slightly more grown-up world, but somehow we doubt that's going to happen. Either way, we'll be playing such a game regardless -- it's just what we do.

There has been a good deal of press lately about the $40 million in funding Turbine recently received. But what didn't get looked into deeply was who gave them that cash and why. If you follow the money, we think you'll find all roads lead to Hogwarts.

Turbine is a privately held gaming company that specializes in launching and maintaining games from well-known brands, Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online, specifically. Time Warner is one of the new investment partners in this latest round of financing for Turbine. They also own Warner Bros. Studios which owns not only the film rights to The Lord of the Rings (and upcoming Hobbit prequel), but also holds the video game publishing rights to the Harry Potter franchise which also just happens to be the biggest movie franchise in box office history.