Entertainment
Hogwarts Legacy: Why are people boycotting one of the biggest games of the year?-GameCentral-Entertainment – Metro
A brand new, big budget Harry Potter game will be out by the end of the week, and many are arguing that you shouldn’t buy it.
The year’s most controversial game (pic: REX/Shutterstock/Metro.co.uk)
A brand new, big-budget Harry Potter game will be out by the end of the week, and many are arguing that you shouldn’t buy it.
Considering the Harry Potter brand remains immensely popular even 10+ years after the last mainline movie came out (not counting those Fantastic Beast spin-offs), it’s safe to assume that Hogwarts Legacy will be one of the biggest game launches of not just February but 2023 altogether.
So far, critic reviews have been mostly positive, with our own citing it as the best Harry Potter game ever made. However, Hogwarts Legacy has, is, and forever will be one of the most controversial titles in recent memory.
Ever since the game was announced, there was fervent backlash against its very existence, as well as calls for a boycott, which have only become more prevalent as its release date draws ever near.
Why are people boycotting Hogwarts Legacy?
For the exact same reason any new Harry Potter media is subjected to immediate condemnation: JK Rowling herself.
For the last several years, Rowling has garnered a reputation not just as the creator of Harry Potter and the Wizarding World, but as perhaps the most prominent figure in the ‘gender critical’ movement.
She has made frequent comments online around the trans community, has actively supported those who make similar remarks, has perpetuated harmful transgender stereotypes in her newer books, and has publicly opposed Scotland’s efforts to make it easier for transgender individuals to be legally recognised as their preferred gender – even going so far as to call First Minister Nicola Sturgeon a ‘destroyer of women’s rights.’
So, it’s pretty obvious why transgender people and anyone who supports them wouldn’t want to touch any new Harry Potter media even with a 10-foot barge pole.
Hogwarts Legacy – it’s become impossible to talk about Harry Potter in any capacity without discussing Rowling’s views (pic: Warner Bros.)
Although publisher Warner Bros. has stressed that Rowling has no involvement with Hogwarts Legacy, that doesn’t change the fact that the game makes use of her creation.
Hogwarts Legacy is intrinsically tied to Rowling regardless of whether she had a hand in its development or not. Not to mention she’ll still make money through royalties. In fact, it’s thanks to her continued royalties that Rowling doesn’t care about alienating fans.
You don’t have to look far on social media to find people insisting that you shouldn’t spend your money on Hogwarts Legacy, since doing so is still financially supporting Rowling.
In response to the game’s launch, a number of Twitch streamers are holding charity streams to raise money for transgender-related charities, while others have asked to temporarily disable ads on their streams so as not to promote Hogwarts Legacy, unintentionally or otherwise.
Is Hogwarts Legacy transphobic?
Despite its association with Rowling, there doesn’t appear to be anything in-game that can be described as intentionally offensive towards transgender people.
If anything, developer Avalanche Studios seems to have attempted the opposite. Its character creator doesn’t provide gender options, perhaps in an effort to be more inclusive, and the game also includes a transgender side character.
Although this can be read as a deliberate response to Rowling’s views, the character’s inclusion has already become a subject of controversy for being a ‘token’ inclusion.
YouTuber Stephanie Sterling claims to have heard from someone who worked on the game that the character exists to ‘pivot the conversation away from [Rowling], which was corroborated by DidYouKnowGaming’s Liam Robertson.
He adds this representation was apparently only added after the initial controversy surrounding Rowling kicked off, with his source calling it ‘performative bulls***.’
Hogwarts Legacy – whether it’s a good game or not isn’t the issue (pic: WB Games)
Even without this, Hogwarts Legacy was met with an entirely different controversy when the first story details emerged, involving a goblin rebellion.
Aside from the fact that the goblins in Harry Potter are essentially slaves (which alone makes them being portrayed as villains all the more dubious), many have accused them of being depicted as Jewish stereotypes.
More: Gaming
US talk show host Jon Stewart previously pointed out the connection, specifically highlighting how the goblins who run Gringotts Bank look and comparing them to how Jews are portrayed in antisemitic literature.
Although Stewart later said the whole comparison was not to be taken seriously and he doesn’t actually think Rowling herself is antisemitic, it’s a comparison many can’t unsee and has only contributed to former fans’ dislike of the franchise.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.
MORE : Hogwarts Legacy: release date, price, Harry Potter characters and more
MORE : My moral dilemma with Hogwarts Legacy – Reader’s Feature
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
Entertainment – MetroRead More
