Former Hogwarts Legacy developer says he wasn’t pressured into leaving by WB Games

After previously announcing his departure from Avalanche Games and Hogwarts Legacy, the now former developer has clarified exactly why.

When Troy Leavitt announced he would be leaving both the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy and studio Avalanche Games, he promised he would explain his reasons for doing so in a future video.

That video has now been published and, according to Leavitt, his exit was primarily due to private family matters. He even shared the resignation letter he sent to Warner Bros. Games.

‘I feel it is important to note that I leave with only the warmest of feelings towards both the Avalanche team and the WB organisation. I greatly appreciate all the efforts they have made in supporting my move to Nevada and helping me to try and work through a difficult situation with my family.

‘Unfortunately, things on that front have seriously deteriorated since the beginning of February of this year. I now see the situation as chronic and likely to be high maintenance into the foreseeable future. I do not believe I will be able to take care of the family issues in my life while still giving the project the care and attention it deserves.’

Considering Leavitt’s departure came after reports were made of his YouTube channel, which consists of videos supportive of the controversial Gamergate movement and critical of feminism, many suspected that the resulting backlash was responsible for his exit and that he was pressured to leave by WB Games.

Leavitt explains that that was not the case and adds that WB Games did review his videos when he first joined Avalanche. The channel apparently fit within the company’s social media policy, even if they didn’t endorse anything he said in the videos.

He states that the articles, while a catalyst, were not the cause of his departure as they were published after his family issues became more serious. Upon reflecting on the situation, he claims that he then chose to prioritise his family over his work.

Following this, he addresses the articles themselves, labelling them as cancel culture and propaganda. He points out that, despite the articles referring to him as such, he was not the lead designer on Hogwarts Legacy and had actually been in a senior producer role since 2019. He claims that nobody reporting had taken time to watch any of his videos and denies being a white supremacist, anti-feminist, and racist – amongst other labels.

He thanks those who supported him, in particular highlighting smaller YouTube channels that made videos defending him, and talks about his future plans, including writing a new book and possibly a return to making videos.

Hogwarts Legacy is in development for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC and scheduled to release in 2022.

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