Hogwarts Legacy is an RPG and Adventure game based on the Harry Potter franchise. J.K. Rowling, the author of the series, is critically known for her open transphobic comments on Twitter causing a rift between fans and gamers who want to play the game. Streamers like HasanAbi mention their fear of mass harassment online.
Twitch Streamer GirlfriendReviews, a duo couple, Shelby can be heard crying in the background while Matt states during stream, “I’m almost thinking of just either going offline…I look at chat it’s just the conversation is just like bothering me.” While hate raids have continuously been targeting streamers who have been showcasing the game it is still the second most-viewed game on Twitch. There was also a website that was used to find content creators that had streamed it. This site had been immediately shut down after 24 hours of being up.
Game Director, Alan Tew, addresses the controversy in an interview with IGN stating, “We know that’s a diverse audience. 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.” To be more inclusive towards the LGBTQIA+ community, Avalanche Software has included a transgender figure in the game, Sirona Ryan. However, Twitter user @KerteszChris states, “The Harry Potter game added a trans woman who looks like a man and dresses like a man and is named SERona Ryan and wtf did they think they were doing?”
IGN interviewed Avalanche to respond to these claims and they have stated, “It has been a high priority throughout the development of Hogwarts Legacy to create a game that is representative and diverse, aligning with our wonderful fan community. Offering players choices in the way they play the game is an element that we have worked on since the start of development. The Character Creator is just one example of that and of course, the large, diverse cast of characters present throughout the game have also had a huge amount of thought from Avalanche and Warner Bros. Games, as well as counsel from outside D&I experts.”
Hogwarts Legacy has been garnering a lot of controversy around transphobia, hate raids, and concern about streaming the game. Content creators are concerned for their communities and are deciding whether to risk hate raids by streaming the game.
The Deluxe Edition allows players to access the game 72 hours before the official release. Hogwarts Legacy is releasing on February 10 and will be available on PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.