‘Hogwarts Legacy’: Beloved but boycotted game leaves Potter fans torn

About as hyped as it is controversial, “Hogwarts Legacy” is a game that easily could have been the biggest and most popular release of 2023.

Instead, it has landed right at the centre of a fierce debate about the rights of trans people.

“Hogwarts Legacy”, the first major video game from the “Harry Potter” empire in years, is getting its long-awaited public release on Friday.

The ability to explore Hogwarts castle and the grounds surrounding it in an open-world narrative that pre-dates the original stories had been longed for by many fans of the original series.

But the launch has been soured by the transphobic online presence of author J.K. Rowling, whose criticism of trans women and trans activists have sparked calls for a complete boycott of this role-playing game.

Time and again, the 57-year-old has spoken out against the social and legal equality of trans women with women who were already born with female sex organs.

Even “Harry” actor Daniel Radcliffe has distanced himself from the author.

In Scotland, where Rowling is involved in an initiative against violence against girls and women, the debate is particularly heated, notably since the regional government passed a law to simplify the long, bureaucratic process of gender reassignment in official documents.

Critics like Rowling warn that the law facilitates men’s access to spaces where women undress and are vulnerable. The Conservative British central government wants to block the changes.

Because of its close association with Rowling, there have long been vocal calls to boycott “Hogwarts Legacy”.

The gaming forum ResetEra has banned any mention of the game, and the website GameSpot published an essay about Rowling’s “anti-transgender stance.”

Others gaming media have meanwhile reflected a torn gaming scene, eager to explore Hogwarts but reluctant to indirectly fund Rowling’s campaign against trans women.

Rowling herself is demonstratively calm. Asked how she was coping with losing so many fans because of her stance, she replied dryly on Twitter in October 2022: “I read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly.”

The game’s developers at Avalanche are acutely aware of the delicate subject, and have even noted that Rowling is not directly involved in the game’s development. However developers did work closely with Rowling’s team, they admit, and the company says the author is “one of the world’s greatest storytellers.”

“Hogwarts Legacy” is by no means the first game to be spawned from Rowling’s wizarding world, but it is the first major one in about a decade, and it had the potential to be the biggest and best-reviewed game yet.

The game takes players back to Hogwarts decades before the events of the Harry Potter books, allowing them to slip into the robes of a freshly placed student at the wizarding school at a time when a nefarious dark arts threat is rising.

The game’s character editor lets you choose voice, gender and appearance (now often standard in role-playing games), and a trans woman plays a larger supporting role.

For all its efforts, the boycott campaign does not seem to be halting the game’s potential for success.

Millions of people recently watched streamers playing the game on Twitch, and according to the site steamdb.info, “Hogwarts Legacy” has been one of the best-selling titles for weeks – even before it was released.

According to opencritic.com, the game has so far been receiving very favourable reviews. Gaming reporter Martin Kimber called the game a “beautifully crafted love letter” to the Potter universe.

Many fans are torn.

Trangender Potter enthusiast Asher Chelder of fan site MuggleNet admitted to Sky News that Rowling’s views hurt people.

But he has been looking forward to the game since it was announced. “I found a lot of solace in the series and it’s something I can’t shake. It’s part of who I am.”