J.K. Rowling antis call for boycott of new Harry Potter game

GET your wands ready, Potterheads!

The new Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy will be available for purchase and download on the video game digital distribution service Steam on Saturday, February 11 (Philippine time).

According to its developer, Hogwarts Legacy’s timeline will take place sometime around the 1800s in Hogwarts, the famous school for magic created by bestselling author J.K. Rowling for the Harry Potter series.

Since Potter was born in 1980, the game will not feature any character from Rowling’s series. Instead, players will have the opportunity to “live the unwritten.”

Photo courtesy: Hogwarts Legacy

This open-world action RPG game will let players face dark forces in battle and ultimately decide the fate of the wizarding world.

Developed by Avalanche Software and published and written by Warner Bros. Games, this fantasy-adventure game sells for P2,500 for its pre-purchase version. Meanwhile, Hogwarts Legacy: Digital Deluxe Version costs P2,920.

Photo courtesy: Hogwarts Legacy

Some initial reviews

While the game is yet to be released for the general public, some game enthusiasts were able to experience the Hogwarts Legacy gameplay during its global pre-release.

Aside from the massive improvement in graphics and other game features, fans were pleased about the game’s character customization features.

Calls for boycott

On the other hand, many netizens, especially those that are part of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies, pleaded with the internet to boycott the game due to Rowling’s previous statements that they consider transphobic.

Rowling’s comments that generated controversy centered on her objection to the non-use of the word “women,” which was replaced by the phrase “people who menstruate” in an article. She would later defend her position, drawing yet more flak. 

Several gaming teams and video game streamers expressed their support for the transgender community by announcing that they will not purchase nor stream the game as the Harry Potter author’s position goes against their values for kindness and inclusivity.

Another Twitch streamer called on her colleagues in the industry to join their “stance against bigotry, hatred, and those who support such views.”

Meanwhile, other netizens expressed their disappointment over those people who purchased and are playing the game despite the awareness of Rowling’s bigotry, noting that those who support the game are “transphobic” and “are not good allies” as they chose to “ignore the pleas of the trans people.”

But Rowling is not involved…

Amid the continuous call for boycott, many Harry Potter fans defended the game, arguing that there was no reason for the boycott as Rowling was not involved in the making of the game as indicated by its FAQs.

Fans of the game also called out J.K. antis for allegedly harassing streamers and other gamers for playing and streaming Hogwarts Legacy.

According to these netizens, the J.K. antis’ harassment of other people for playing the game doesn’t make them any different from the author herself.