The night before she was to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood, Brittany Cater wondered if the trip was a mistake.
The “Harry Potter” universe created by author J.K. Rowling has been a part of her life for nearly 25 years, but renewed controversy over the author and a new video game set in her universe have put Cutter on pause.
She had long put off visiting her, but her deep connection to the fantasy world eventually won out.
“I started reading ‘Harry Potter’ when I was 11,” said Cater, 36, as she unwrapped a new wand in a hidden alley in the park. “It is very much a sanctuary and a safe place. I started listening to it as an adult again, and it was a perfect stress reliever during a turbulent time.”
But more than two decades after the first book was released, not every reader who grew up imagining the halls of Hogwarts and sipping on Butterbeer at Hogsmeade no longer considers the world of “Harry Potter” to be a safe place.
For weeks, a battle has been brewing between players as parts of society have called for a boycott of “Hogwarts Legacy,” a game set nearly 100 years before the events of the “Harry Potter” books. The debate, first sparked when the game was announced in 2020 and renewed with its release this month, centers around an ethical question: Can fans support the “Hogwarts Legacy” and “Harry Potter” franchises while also condemning Rowling’s comments on transgenderness and gender equality. identification?
Her views, which have been shared online for the past three years, have been widely criticized as transphobic, leading many fans to wrestle with their nostalgia and cling to a narrative that has brought them years of joy and a sense of belonging.
Hogwarts Legacy, the long-awaited big-budget role-playing game from Warner Bros. Games, questions about separating art from artist and about what our popular cultural consumption says about our beliefs.
Critics called the author’s opinions—and consumer support for the game—dangerous at a time when a wave of anti-LGBT bills were being introduced in legislatures across the country. Many who love the “Potter” universe agree with this criticism but argue that it was the fans who really brought the universe to life. .
“Nothing can touch that,” Cater said. “Political views that she has that are harmful can’t touch that.”
She added that exploring the wizarding world could help show the world that the “Harry Potter” fanbase is larger and more inclusive than any beliefs espoused by the creator of the fictional world.
For Dylan Whitaker, the world of “Potter” is alluring because it “makes you question what’s real and your way of thinking.”
“Obviously, she’s very attached to the brand, but I feel like the brand is bigger than her now,” Whittaker, 31, said of Rowling in the midst of a smartphone photo shoot for Universal’s take on Hogsmeade. “Creators can create content that is inclusive of everyone, maybe not quite like, ‘This is the JK Rowling thing.’ Get away with it, and the fun can continue.”
Despite the controversy, analysts believe calls to boycott the game will not hurt sales. Although official sales figures have not been released, “Hogwarts Legacy” has consistently topped the sales chart on video game digital distribution service Steam since its launch last week. Reports out of the UK show that the game had biggest launch The game “Harry Potter” so far.
The “Hogwarts Legacy” dispute could affect sales by about 10 percentage points, said Michael Pachter, a research analyst at Wedbush Securities.
“If a game is going to sell 5 million units, it’s going to sell 4.5, something like that,” he said. “And you’d never know. We wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I don’t think enough people care about a massive mass boycott, where people march, and thousands of people show up with signs in front of Warner Bros.’ gates.”
The game has timing on its part, added Butcher, because games released in the spring “tend to do very well” due to the lack of competition.
Andrew Uerkwitz, a senior analyst at Jefferies, said that the “Hogwarts Legacy” controversy raised awareness of the game, and ultimately served as free marketing.
“Yes, there was controversy…but it doesn’t detract from how impressive the world of ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Harry Potter’ is,” he said. “Based on sales, Metacritic scores, and user scores, the game met or exceeded quality expectations.”
However, the controversy hasn’t stopped fans and critics alike from launching personal attacks against each other online. Video game publications have argued about whether they should review “Hogwarts Legacy”.
The game’s website IGN included a note with its review, which largely avoided controversy, arguing instead that the Critic’s role is to “answer the question whether and why we find ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ interesting to play; whether it is ethical to play is a separate but still very important question”. Meanwhile, GameSpot greeted the game’s launch with a A primer on transgender charities And Detailed article which outlined Rowling’s comments and how they are viewed by the trans community, and at the end asks players to stand in solidarity with their trans peers.
Those who decided to play found themselves having to justify the decision.
When Samira Early turned on her Twitch channel on a recent weekday and logged into “Hogwarts Legacy,” comments about the county poured into her stream as she battled a large armored troll, dodged attacks, and cast spells.
“Dude, just play the game if you want to play it. I’m a trans girl. I love Harry Potter. I hate JK Rowling,” Early, who gushes under a Twitch handle Yishai, to approximately 10,000 viewers. It’s a Harry Potter game. About [expletive] wizards. “
Roughly 1.28 million people watched “Hogwarts Legacy” content on Twitch last Thursday before its official release on February 10, according to the game’s developers — making it the most-watched single-player game ever on the platform.
Early said it was up to each player to decide if they wanted to avoid the game. She said she respects that others don’t want to play or invest their money in a game that benefits Rowling, but online attacks on players enjoying “Hogwarts Legacy” cross the line.
“I was called a fanatic,” she said in an interview. “I got the name of a piece of human garbage. I’ve been called a complete scum – that’s just to name a few. “
Gemma Stone, co-founder of the site writes acrosssaid she understands why the game has such broad appeal: the Harry Potter universe has long lacked an expansive role-playing game like Hogwarts Legacy.
Long before the events of the primary books, the game follows a similar heroic plot with a deep devotion to detail. Players can spend hours exploring the halls and rooms of Hogwarts before exiting the castle.
Stone used to be a fan of the older “Harry Potter” video games, many of which don’t have the best critical reputations.
“I understood why the game was so popular,” Stone said. “This is something our generation of players have been asking for for a long time.”
She said that was before Rowling’s comments on transgender issues.
“I have a lot of nostalgia and a childhood connection to ‘Harry Potter,’ but I just can’t get caught up in the franchise anymore,” Stone said. “I’ve taken a long time to understand JK Rowling at this point. I’m beyond grieving. I’m just angry.”
In 2020, Rowling tweeted an editorial that referred to “people who menstruate”, saying: “I’m sure there was a word for those people. Someone help me out. Whompin? Wimpund? WooMode?”
Thousands of people responded to the tweet, many of whom were offended by her comments. The author doubles down and visits again: “If gender isn’t real, then the reality women experience globally is erased,” she wrote, adding that she supports “every trans person’s right to live in whatever way feels authentic and comfortable to them.”
A few days later, she posted an article on her website about “reasons to speak out about sex and gender issues” and tweeted it with the caption, “TERF wars.” (TERF stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism).
In the post, she recounts her former support for Maya Forstetter, who lost her job in London in 2019 and sued alleging discrimination based on what she describes as her “gender-critical” views, including her belief that “it’s impossible to change sex.”
Rowling’s comments and the ensuing article prompted members of the “Harry Potter” cast – including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Bonnie Wright – to respond in support of the transgender community.
In a trailer released this week for a podcast titled “The Witch Trials of JK Rowling”, Rowling tells her critics, “You could not misunderstand me more deeply.”
A Warner Bros. spokesperson declined. Games commentary. A representative for Rowling said the author would not discuss the “Hogwarts legacy”.
Game developer Avalanche Software sought to deviate from Rowling’s comments, citing the game’s comprehensiveness as evidence that it is intended for a wide range of players.
The character generator in the game allows players to create a character with traits of any gender, and the game is populated with a variety of actors. A statement on the game’s official website indicates that Rowling had no input on “Hogwarts Legacy”.
“Rowling was not involved in the game’s creation, but as the creator of The Wizarding World and one of the world’s greatest storytellers, her extraordinary writing is the foundation of all projects in The Wizarding World,” the statement said. “This is not a new story from J.K. Rowling, but we have worked closely with her team on all aspects of the game to ensure it remains consistent with the magical experiences fans have come to expect.”
To Streamer Veronica”nicatin’ Ripley, Rowling’s non-participation is irrelevant.
“I’m not telling anyone not to play Harry Potter,” said Ripley. “I tell them you can’t fund transphobia and then still claim you’re an ally. You wouldn’t be surprised or hurt when trans people point that out. As creators, we have a certain level of responsibility to our community.”
Ripley added that there is no artistic separation from the artist.
“I think most conversations about whether or not art should be separated from the artist are from artists who are already dead,” said Ripley. “No one forces you to consume a luxury good. There are tens of thousands of video games out there. Do you have any idea how many magic wizard games there are? There is no limit to that.”
In response to the game’s release, many in the trans creator community highlighted a game bundle for sale on an itch.io-focused indie storefront called “Transient witches are witches.” For $60, players get a variety of fantasy games and art from LGBTQ+ content creators.
Some titles explore attending a school for wizards and fan-hopping – “Tomorrow for Mar” – while others focus on storytelling, including a game about healing monsters called “All Magical Creatures Great & Small”. To date, the package has raised $152,767 for its developers.
Some used the game’s release as an opportunity to raise money for organizations supporting the transgender community – a move criticized by some, saying operators should play a game from a transgender developer instead.
After 11 hours of play last week, Early, the Streamer raised $1,525 and donated the money to the National Center for Gender Equality.
Referring to Rowling, she said, “I thought doing this charity podcast, where I use her IP address to donate money to a cause that she hates and that she really wants to support, is the best thing I can do,” referring to Rowling.
The contributions it made from broadcast revenue were not good enough for some viewers, who continued to criticize it for its gameplay. An observer told her that no matter how much money she donated to charity, it would never be reimbursed for supporting the game.
But fans who continue to explore the world of “Harry Potter” see an opportunity to lead by example by stripping themselves of Rowling’s beliefs and building a fan base beyond the author.
“I’m having a lot of fun with this, and it’s a resilience with it,” Cater said in The Wizarding World. “I can make other people, whom she may not make safe with her views, feel safe by being here and supporting them in these places.”
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