Hogwarts Legacy is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of the year. First announced in September 2020, the long awaited game allows players to roleplay as a student in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Gamers will be able to explore the halls of Hogwarts, learn magic, fly around on a broom, and interact with hundreds of characters. As reviews roll out this week in anticipation of the February 10 release date, it appears by most accounts that the game will live up to the hype, and let gamers live out their wildest wizarding fantasies.
But almost immediately since its announcement, the game’s been mired in controversy - but not for anything in the game itself. Rather, the game has a lot of baggage it has desperately been trying to shake: Original series author J.K. Rowling.
Hogwarts: Legacy of Controversy
For years, J.K. Rowling’s ‘likes’ on social media hinted towards her anti-transgender beliefs. But it wasn’t until 2020 that she confirmed her anti-trans stance with a lengthy post on her personal website. Since then, much of Rowling’s social media presence has traded in anti-trans rhetoric, particularly when it comes to transgender children.
Since that post, Harry Potter fans - many of them young and progressive on LGBTQ issues - have had a complicated relationship with the series, trying to love the Wizarding World while also finding its creator’s views toxic and hateful.
That has spilled over into one of the most anticipated video game releases of the year. Many LGBTQ gamers and allies have committed not to purchase the game, despite reports that development of the game began before Rowling’s 2020 post. The game’s creators have stated that Rowling didn’t work directly with them to develop any material for the game, but she is almost certainly going to be receiving royalties from every sale of the game, given it is based on her intellectual property.
The game’s creators have done their best to distance themselves from Rowling’s views. The character creator in the game reportedly allows gamers to create a transgender or gender nonconforming character as their in-game avatar, and it even includes the Wizarding World’s first transgender character, the owner of a local pub in Hogsmeade named Sirona Ryan.
The game’s director, Alan Tew, says that the developers at Avalanche Games are committed to making a game that everyone can play. “We know our fans fell in love with the wizarding world, and we believe they fell in love with it for the right reasons,” he explains. “For us, it’s making sure that the audience, who always dreamed of having this game, had the opportunity to feel welcomed back, that they have a home here and that it’s a good place to tell their story.”
This is hardly the first time the Harry Potter series has been the targets of protest, however. Upon the first book's release in 1997, the series was under fire from some evangelicals, who believed the book would lead children down a path of sin. Behind the titular character's boyish smile, ruffled black hair, and lightning bolt scar lay a sinister motive: converting impressionable children to a life of witchcraft and paganism. School libraries in nearly half the states banned the books, and some churches and parent groups organized mass burnings of books, merchandise, and DVDs of the films.
Accio Protest
For many LGBTQ gamers it’s simply too little too late, and they’ve pledged not to support the game financially. There have been numerous social media campaigns on Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and more calling on gamers not to purchase the game, hoping to both hurt Rowling’s pocketbook as well as to show a general solidarity against her views.
If pre-orders are anything to go by… the campaign has largely failed. The game has been number one on Amazon’s video game bestseller list for weeks, long before its release date, and analysts already have it pinned as one of the top-selling video games of the year. Gamers, it appears, largely do not know - or more likely, do not care - about Rowling’s personal views on sex and gender. At least not enough to put the controller down and sit this game out.
What do you think of the protests? Was the movement doomed to fail from the start? And should gamers separate art from the artist?
When it comes to engaging with art created by people holding views we find disagreeable, where is the line?
44 comments
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Michael Siebielec
It would be sad for anyone into video games to miss out on this amazingly detailed and vast role-playing game due to this dumb trans issue that has gotten so out of hand in the states where the Christofascist right has made it the centerpiece of the upcoming election. I really miss the good old American value of minding their own business when it comes to sexual matters but that's too much to ask in the regressive 21st century.
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Howard Ellis
get blocked someone don't like my comments I have to pull them why bother h e they want this removed they can do it
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Howard Ellis
my comments don't seem to pass the code won't waste anyones time again I'll talk to my dog she understands me H E min
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Hunter Ray Kiker
As of this comment “Hogwarts Legacy” has grossed an estimated $840 Million USD in sales and preorders.
Why should it matter what one person says. Nobody has the right to judge one another, on the basis to cause harm wether it be mental, physical or financial harm. Love thy neighbor.
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Rev Ned
Some people aren’t happy, unless they have something to complain about.
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Angela Viera
I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Whether we agree with it or not. If you don't agree, do not buy or do, or watch, but let those that do agree have their option. We are not in the middle ages, we are suppose to be evolving, but it looks more like we are de-volving once again to the dark ages. Be considerate, be open minded and share views. In that way, we learn from each other.
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William Sadler
Tolkein's masterpieces have had a partially troubling issue with me since my second reading in my 20's 1980s period. I have never read Rowlings works and don't plan to as there are so many books and so little time. Aside from the absence of the characters toilet hygienic needs, excluding the occasional dousing, there is the problem of the incipient racism in the texts. From sallow skinned, squinty eyed, dark hued characters that can only resemble Tolkein's exposures to Asians, Indians and Africans in his native home in South Africa to the Nepali and Himalayan folks he met in India, and back home to Great Britain whose post-wars population burgeoned with the influx of former Empire colonists, the classic England based trilogy and Silmarillion contain numerous instances of explicitly denoted and implicitly connoted anti-White sentiments. Tolkein has reported that his works were neither allegorical nor politically motivated and I believe him. The Narnia series by his, converted to Christianity by himself, friend and fellow Inkling, CS Lewis', barely veiled Christian themes bothered me a whole lot more at 14 than the gruesome Orks and Southrons of Middle Earth, and is the main reason I will never recommend anything beyond Lion Witch and Wardrobe's primary offering. The point is, an author is the product of the times and that individual should be understood as just that. The works eventually belong to the readers, not the author who will die, and whose works will enter into the public domain.
People still quibble about William Shakespeare. But miss the point about the works attributed to the Shakespeare Production brand. Problem with that follows in comment posted to Shakespeare Video, YouTube: "What this discussion is missing is context. I have been to the metropolitan theater in London, New York, Oakland and San Francisco. I have sipped tea in cafes in Stratford on Avon. I have a substantial body of my own written work and am quite familiar with the compositional process. All of us have a far greater education than anyone in Shakespeare's time could possibly have had. No, William Shakespeare did not write any of the works attributed to him. Not one. He alone could not have, nor could any other single person, not then nor now. Shakespeare was an impresario, a Bill Graham or George Lucas or Andy Warhol of his time. He gathered talent. He raised funds. He secured contracts. He dealt in real estate. He worked with printers, publishers, costumiers, musicians, caterers and graphic artists to produce the weekly matinees for the masses. His troupe of experienced actors, poets, scripters, and gadabouts gathered gossip, news, rumors, innuendos, recent translations of myths and folk tales and historical fictions to make the folio contents. It was always a group endeavor with Shakespeare's moniker at the helm. So stop arguing and enjoy the plays as they were meant as thoughtful entertainment only."
I used to be an English teacher, but I'm still a fan of good story telling, regardless.
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Scott Smith
This speaks to a larger issue, one with which I have wrestled.
Are you Pro-Choice? Then do you stop shopping at Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, among others? Did you get rid of your My Pillow, even though it provides you with much needed sleep?
The same goes for the list of anti-LGBTQ+ businesses, and it doesn't stop there.
What is the best way to handle this? How are you choosing to handle this?
Thanks so much! I really want to know...
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Darrell Hebert
Headline..”.Huge backlash” huh
Nobody cares. I don’t think JK the billionaire has fear (phobias) of all those initials .
BTW… to the socialist comments.
The problem with socialism is eventually,,, you run out of other peoples money
Reagan/Thatcher
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Campuscoll
Why should we be concerned with what Rowling thinks about transgender persons? She is entitled to her opinion as I am to mine. If you don't like her opinions, so be it. If you're a gamer and like Potter games, then buy them. As the Bard said, "Much ado about nothing."
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Nicholas J H Baldwin
Please people, try and be more accepting of each others views , we live in a Free Country that allows us freedom of speech and thoughts and beliefs. I am very old my Life has been one of torment,love,deprivation, dislike,compassion - life is to be lived, the more tolerant I am the happier my life is. LOVE is to be shared, stop criticizing and be accepting, you don't need to agree or disagree but for God's sake and your own sake , allow people to have opposing views without getting so riled up.I am pleased and delighted to be a Minister in the ULC and to read such a divergent set of opinions, it is so refreshing to read sensible comments even though I often disagree with them, Vive La Differance !
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I always thought a good game of chess was exciting enough. And it never mattered to me that the queen might be transgendered.
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Rev. B
And do we know the political viewpoints of the person who invented chess? Considering how old the game is, the more than likely were anti-trans, homophobic, etc. But do we boycott chess?
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I wonder if playing that game would eventually help us awaken the Wizard within? Regardless of that I was already planning to buy an 18" high Arcade 1 Up countertop arcade machine from Amazon next month, which contains the games that contain Galaga, Galaxian, Pacman, and Pacmania. They have nothing to do with sexual orientation or gender, even though Pacman can be considered very oral, it would take a far stretch of a perverted imagination to consider it sexual. I really like those classic games of the eighties, before they stared making characters with personalities and agendas.
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Rev. B
But what about the people who made those games? For all we know, they are all anti-something. It's safer to only play games made by people that believe the exact same things that you do.
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Jesse Hernandez
Be ye separate, we know as believers of what Jesus did on the cross for us and all who believes we shouldn't be involved with this mess anyway. We must have a foundation to stand on or we'll fall for anything. Let ur light shine b4 men so that they might see the glory of our lord.God Bless.
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William Sadler
Wikipedia's deplorable editorial rhetoric paints the whole "Bigfoot" phenomenon as pseudo-science. The problem with that is obvious to anyone with a clue about the difference between anecdote and circumstantial evidence. More of the latter can be sufficient to draw a reasonable conclusion, while the former yields fascinating fireside folklore
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Marion Wolfe
The christian and republican savages are going to have a field day over this blog.
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Lionheart
Don't forget there are Democrat Christians as well here, and of course other faiths, and those with no religious faith at all. They are all lurking these hallways, not all of them in plain sight 🫣
🦁♥️
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Marion Wolfe
I've seen just a handful from other faiths in here, and they've all been plenty civilized comparatively. Democrats are on thin ice, especially the Christians among them, but the conservatives and Christians have worked hard to earn their title; it wouldn't be fair to start just throwing the word "savages" around like it has no meaning.
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Lionheart
There are also Pagan members in here, as well as many secular members. Christian cultures abound of course, in Europe and the West, that frequent this blog, but are slowly losing their majority.
🦁❤️
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LadyLucifer
Theist Luciferian pagan here, the more you let one person's opinion rile you up, the more power you give them. The game is inclusive, dispite Rowling's views. No one should take entertainer's opinions too seriously. If it weren't for their work, no one would listen to them. So, enjoy the work and ignore the hate of someone who finally got someone to listen to them. Enjoy life a little more and hate a little less. Peace!!
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Campuscoll
Marion, Christian republicans is an oxymoron. Jesus was a pure socialist and you know it. If we all lived by His teachings, socialism would be rampant. Is that so bad? Jesus would approve. "Give to the poor."
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LadyLucifer
Most of us don't wanna be the next beach bonfire, Lionheart, but, yes, we read these comments too, 😂.
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Jennifer Cash McGeoghegan
If you support trans people, then it is not possible to seperate the author, or their intellectual property, from the financial support of anything Harry Potter. I was a huge fan. I loved the stories. Until I discovered what the person behind the writing really was. It's like saying you don't agree with the holocaust, but Hitler had some good ideas.... Seriously, there is not seperation here. She's making money, and using that money to influence anti-trans agendas with every purchase. I really don't care what "others" do with their time, money or their consciense...I will not be supporting anything that puts additional money or leverage into her hands.
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Heather
What about the developers who worked on the game and their pay is based on sales? Are they to be held responsible for the views of a PARTIAL author? I say partial because WB owns more of the HP franchise rights that waste of air. I, in no way shape or form support her, but it’s not her releasing the game. It’s Warner Brothers because it’s basically THEIR franchise. There are multiple instances in the game where there is anti-JKR visuals and highly inclusive characters. THAT’S Warner Brothers. By boycotting the game you’re not hurting her, you’re hurting the developers, condemning them to lose their jobs. Is that fair?
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Kristi
This. All of this. There is representation in this game. I'm a bisexual woman living with both a man and a woman. I'm all about the alphabet mafia and I supported this game. I'm playing the hell out of this game. And I'm seeing both in minor and major characters POC and queer representation. It's all there. You aren't "lining the pockets of JK Rowling, or supporting her anti-trans views". You are playing a game that took devs and WB YEARS to work, and YEARS to perfect. This is someone's magnum opus, don't take that away from them. This is set in the "Wizarding World" hundreds of years before Harry Potter, which means Warner Brothers owns this, not JK.
And from a personal note, I'm 35 hours into the game and it's everything you could have hoped for in a wizarding world game and more. You get lost in the castle just wandering around, there are puzzles all around, and the areas outside of the castle are just as well made and just as much attention to detail.
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Pastor Jody S.
Amen Jennifer. JK should remember that whenever you "Sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind".
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Rev. B
"She's making money, and using that money to influence anti-trans agendas"
Would you mind providing a link that shows that she plans on spending the money from this game on "anti-trans agendas"? I hadn't heard about that part of it and it wasn't in the article above.
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Amit john
I'm torn on this one. I disagree with Rowlings views but I also enjoy her writing. In most cases I am able to seperate the work from the artist and I'm this case it is what I will do. As long as her hateful ideas are not contained in whichever media ot encompasses I will continue to enjoy the Wizarding universe.
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Colleen McAllister
I'm torn on this one. I disagree with Rowlings views but I also enjoy her writing. In most cases I am able to seperate the work from the artist and I'm this case it is what I will do. As long as her hateful ideas are not contained in whichever media ot encompasses I will continue to enjoy the Wizarding universe.
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Dr. Zerpersande, NSC
Kinda’ like with that rapper that was messing with young girls?
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Magistar Mormaer MacLean
Attempt to explain the similarities?
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Dr. Zerpersande, NSC
Rowling has opinions that cancel culture wants to use to destroy her but some people are of the opinion that, “well, her opinions are ‘awful’ but her books are still great.” And people still want to listen to music by R. Kelly.
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Magistar Mormaer MacLean
Cancel Culture is possibly one of the worst aspects of modern social constructs.
Specific to Rowling; I can find no issue in her views that the Scottish Governments plans on gender recognition need further oversight. This why the UK government has put a stop to it.
Rowling herself if most altruistic, giving millions away. Recently setting up a Sexual and Domestic Abuse refuge and centre for women.
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Dr. Zerpersande, NSC
Agree with what you said. My point is that IF liked Rowling’s books or Kelly’s music (I like neither) I probably would go on reading the books and listening regardless of what they do.
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Robert J Giammarco
This is RIDICULOUS. Who really cares? The gamers ARE going to PLAY this game regardless of what is said. I agree that MANY who may picket this so called cause, WIIL buy it, and play it, all the while demonstrating against it.I think its funny as well that they will call for all to boycott this game. That's so great, as by doing so they are GIVING creedence to many who WILL become so curious that they will want to buy it. So all they are doing is PROMOTING it. Keep giving them FREE advertising. You fools.
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Tom
J.K. Rowling is a dirty, rotten TERF. That is all.
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Jennifer Cash McGeoghegan
Solidarity fro this area. I agree with you 100%
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Rev. MichaelRS
No effect. In fact I'm willing to bet that many HP fans that fall under the ever enlarging alphabet umbrella will secretly play it while publicly denouncing it.
If there are any slumping sales to any part of the franchise i'm Sure it is more due to the fact that the bluloom is off the rose (Harry Potter and such being old news) more than Rowling's social stance.
Or maybe the christians are having an effect on it because they boycott it due to the demonic implications of the magic and such.
While that is just as good a theory as any other, I think it's middle of the road everyday people that really affect it. Not extremist on either side
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Magistar Mormaer MacLean
Riddikulus
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JaZe
🤔 it s beginning to look like the gay/trans etc world is holding the world to ransom
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Tom
I see what you did there
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Hmmm... Some reason my comment didn't post. To sum it up, don't let one person's view rile you up. Life is to be enjoyed. I hope me saying I'm a theistic Luciferian pagan didn't censor me. That would be... unfortunate. Peace!! 🥰