Rowling, the creator of the Wizarding World franchise’s intellectual property, faced accusations of transphobia for putting an emphasis on biological sex over gender identity. Many activists argued that royalties from the game would find their way into Rowling’s pocket. Despite this controversy, the game received rave reviews, scoring 85 out of 100 on Metacritic and receiving a nine out of 10 rating from IGN.
In ‘Hogwarts Legacy,’ players can virtually explore the Harry Potter universe as a student attending the iconic Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the 19th century. The game, developed by Avalanche Software and edited by Warner Bros’ Portkey Games, has an open-world format that allows players to freely roam around inside the magical castle, attend wizarding classes, and cast spells as they compete in quests.
Prior to the game’s release, Warner Bros. and Portkey attempted to distance themselves from the controversy surrounding Rowling by posting a message on the game’s website stating that she had no involvement in the making of the game. They also made the decision to include a trans witch in the storyline.
Despite this, many trans activists still snubbed the release due to the likelihood that royalties would find their way into Rowling’s pocket. Twitch streamer Will Overgard and trans YouTuber Jessie Earl both urged a boycott of the game, with Earl stating that ‘any support of something like Hogwarts Legacy is harmful.’ Rowling accused Earl of ‘purethink’ in response and said: ‘The truly righteous wouldn’t just burn their books and movies but the local library, anything with an owl on it, and their own pet dogs.’
Nevertheless, the game received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its ability to capture the essence of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, some critics gave the game low ratings, with Digital Trends panning the game’s ‘cold and clinical’ design and lack of imagination.
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