17 years after the MMORPG Wizard101 was released on PC, it is finally on consoles. ComingSoon spoke with KingsIsle Entertainment VP of Product Joel White and Game Director Artie Rogers to learn more about the free-to-play game and why it’s the best time to jump in for new and returning players. Wizard101 is now available on PlayStation and Xbox, while it will arrive on Nintendo Switch at a later date.
“Unleash your inner magic and prepare to unravel the mysteries surrounding a death professor gone rogue. Darkness threatens to engulf the Spiral as you master powerful spells, explore over 22 whimsical worlds, and team up with friends in this nostalgic wizard turn-based deckbuilding MMORPG,” says the official description.
Check out an exclusive look at the Wizard101 Darkmoor update loading screen below:
Releasing on consoles is a long time coming and a major milestone. What was the biggest challenge in getting this to work on both PlayStation and Xbox?
Joel White: Wizard101 has been live on PC for 17 years, but has been in development for about 20 years. The game engine that was picked 20 years ago was modern and used by hundreds of other games, but since then, it has become a little on the old side and not supported on any of the last 2 generations of consoles.
With that being said, the hardest part was getting that older engine to run on the newer consoles, and that took quite a while.
The second hardest thing was changing all of the UI elements in the game to be controller-friendly. By the end of the project, we had to modify almost 200 UI screens to make them work the way we wanted with a controller.
With the Darkmoor update also going live this year, why is this a good time for new and returning players to jump into Wizard101?
Artie Rogers: Castle Darkmoor was always a fan favorite in terms of its setting, so fans of the original dungeon will get to see so much more than just the one zone. Now, there will be a revealing of lore that has been hinted at for years to the players through existing NPC’s, monsters, and more.
We’re also revisiting Shadow Magic to strengthen its lore connections and add strategic depth to how you can use it in combat. Shadow Creatures, Shadow Pacts, and Shadow Enhanced Spells are going to be a new avenue for players to use Shadow Magic, and we’re excited for them to start that journey as they explore Darkmoor. We feel the changes we’re making will present an interesting risk-reward situation for the player and will give them some new strategic options during combat.
And this year specifically is a fantastic year for new players to discover the magic in Wizard101. A flood of people will be starting their journey as the game releases on console, which gives players a brand-new opportunity to learn and grow as they progress at a steady pace alongside each other while relying on the years of guides and resources that are already at their disposal online.
Castle Darkmoor is a fan-favorite location, so why is now the right time to further expand it?
Rogers: We’re at the beginning of a new multi-year story arc – our fifth! – and we wanted to start strong. Darkmoor is a world we always felt had a lot of potential, a world many people on the team have wanted to expand for a while, and this new arc provided us with a perfect opportunity. Without giving too much away, the beginning of Arc 5 is very different from how we’ve begun arcs in the past; and, of all the worlds in the Spiral, Darkmoor was the best tonal and thematic fit for where we want to take the Wizard101 story next.
Wizard101 is free to download. How much of the MMO can players play for free until they have to unlock areas through Access Passes or use in-game currency?
Joel White: As of January 2025, we have moved the paywall back to just after the player enters the 2nd world of the game, Krokotopia, making all the mainline quest zones in the first world, Wizard City, free to play.
All players are welcome to play up to 2 free-to-play events that run each week. There are at least seven events that run per month, all with different goals, themes, rewards, and more!
After decades of updates, it would be easy for new players to become overwhelmed. How have you been able to keep the game’s onboarding feasible over time?
Artie Rogers: We have been working to pace out the introduction of the game’s systems and side systems so that players experiencing the game for the first time are exposed in a way that keeps the game experience fresh and varied.
For veteran players, we worked to make sure the core experience remains consistent for those who enjoy it for what it always was. Players opt into these systems when they may want to experience something different or explore the game in a different way. So even for veteran users, the rate at which they want to learn and use these systems is largely up to them.
Our community of players also does a great job at documenting, keeping each other informed, and giving each other the best tips and tricks as more is added to the game. You can find wikis, forum posts, video tutorials, and more from the very beginning!
Wizard101 has been around since 2008. To keep a fanbase engaged for literal decades is an incredible feat. Why do you think people keep coming back to Wiz101 despite all the MMOs that have come and gone in the interim?
Rogers: I think there are several reasons…I think our setting is uniquely varied when compared to other games. Most games have a fixed setting, but with the Spiral Universe in Wizard, we can explore new settings in different worlds every year. One year may be inspired by 19th-century Australia, or another may take elements from Medieval Eastern Europe. Darkmoor will make the 23rd of those mainline worlds, so there are plenty of interesting areas to explore!
Our game allows the player to engage with it in the way they want. There are low-stress experiences for those who are interested in narrative and exploration. There are creative areas for those interested in building complex exhibits in their houses. There are more challenging areas like PvP and Challenge Mode. There are spaces in the game for larger groups of people with cooperative decorations as part of the Guild system or cooperative battle in our Raids. There are events which are more action-oriented with faster-paced combat like Beastmoon. While our setting helps keep the game feeling new to current and returning players, we also have a wide variety of things to do in the game where each day can present a different set of challenges or experiences for everyone.
Our lore and story is another major component that brings players back. The lore of the Spiral is deep, varied, and can be serious at times, but it balances that with humor and whimsy, which contributes to the cozier vibe of our main story experience.
What’s been most rewarding about seeing the community continue playing for this long? From people playing with family members to lifelong friendships being forged within the game, a lot of connections have grown from the game.
Rogers: Obviously, hearing about people who have made life-long friendships or partners in the game is always heartwarming. For me, one of the most rewarding things is to see people who grew up playing Wizard101, who then brought that love and enthusiasm to the game in a personal way by coming to work with us. The first decade of Wizard101 planted the seed in their hearts to help us make Wizard101 great for the decades to come!
