And some players have drawn the conclusion that a new, nonplayable character is transgender, based on a line of dialogue in which the character - Sirona Ryan, who runs the Three Broomsticks pub - said it had taken her classmates a moment to “realise I was actually a witch, not a wizard.” Hogwarts Legacy which celebrates the Harry Potter universe was released on Friday. Like other role-playing games, Hogwarts Legacy allows players to shape their avatars’ appearance, intertwining issues of identity with the gameplay. On the game’s Reddit forum, moderators reinstated restrictions on discussing Rowling, writing that allowing such conversation “quickly spirals into bigoted language towards LGBTQ+ individuals.” On an official Discord forum, a moderator pleaded with users to “pause on the JK topic.” Still, the disagreements over whether to engage with the newest entry in the wizarding world have sowed chaos on internet forums. “It’s a game that got very popular very fast, and most people aren’t into the controversy.”ĭays before its official release, Hogwarts Legacy became the single-player game with the highest number of concurrent viewers on the streaming site Twitch, according to analytics site Streams Charts, beating titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring. “The controversy is very loud,” said Alex Casilio, a YouTube creator who has followed Hogwarts Legacy throughout its yearslong development, although he questioned whether the debate would have a measurable impact on sales. Some have pledged to boycott the game, while others have embraced it or defended their right to play it without claiming specific gender politics. In recent weeks, they have used social media to confront one another over issues of transgender rights. Hogwarts Legacy brought another dedicated community into the fold: gamers, a group not associated with soft-spokenness online. Some pledged to cease spending money on the franchise, which includes a theatrical production and the Fantastic Beasts movies.ĪLSO READ: As JK Rowling comes under fire for transphobic tweets, a disappointed fan finds she can no longer separate the art from the artist AFP File Photoįans who considered Rowling’s views odious and anti-trans - a sentiment she denies - clashed with those who sympathised with them, while others argued that the artist could be separated from her art. “At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe.” JK Rowling has been slammed by many for her remarks on the transgender community. “I want trans women to be safe,” she wrote.

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