Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Is Messing With Harry Potter History

If there is one thing fans of Harry Potter know, it's their canon. With a fan-base that dedicated, that means any game based on the series had better be up to snuff in the history department. According to recent hubbub, though, the mobile game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, has blurred the timeline in several instances.

Since Hogwarts Mystery is a prequel, it deals with events that take place several years before the phenomenally successful book series from J.K. Rowling, though well after the events of the ongoing Fantastic Beasts films. However, those books, information from the author herself and several tangential "textbooks" have filled in a lot of the history of the Wizarding World. In other words, there are plenty of ways to screw up the storyline if you haven't paid especially close attention to the details.

Based on a report from Polygon, that's exactly what's happened with Hogwarts Mystery (Not to be confused with the upcoming Niantic game), which is set in 1984. Set about a decade before Potter and his pals step foot in Hogwarts, the game lets players create their own character, get sorted into a house and live out their own life at the popular School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As noted in the original report, the trick here is that players are exploring an era that isn't as well covered as others in the books, films, etc. Voldemort has already slithered through his years at the school and the events of the books haven't kicked off yet. It's kind of a down time in the history of the world, which is probably what made it so appealing as a setting for the game. Far less opportunity to screw up the small details, right? Wrong.

One example folks have an issue with is that the Firebolt broom is the focus of a question in one of the game's flying courses. It makes sense that it would appear as a bit of trivia, as the broom plays a pretty big role in the Harry Potter books. However, since the broom wasn't actually on the Quidditch pitch until 1993, it makes no sense that the question would be on an exam administered nearly a decade earlier. It's easy to read inconsistencies like that and shrug it off but, again, this is the kind of property that has a ridiculously devoted following that will pick up on that kind of stuff in a heartbeat.

Another example given is the fact that Dolores Umbridge is mentioned in another exam. One of the Villains of The Order of the Phoenix, Umbridge started working at the school in 1996. Before that, she had worked for the Ministry of Magic. So when the test has her name as a possible answer for a question about who the Divination teacher is, folks once again got frustrated.

So, clearly, the game is in a tight spot. It takes place before much of the history of Harry Potter that's better known, meaning the developers have to be extra careful about the references they make. We're sure those issues can be easily patched out, though, if fans find it too upsetting.