According to insider information given to Bloomberg, Hogwarts Legacy will give players the option to create transgender characters within the upcoming RPG set in the Harry Potter universe. As stated in the Bloomberg article, players will freely be able to create a character with any mixture of feminine and masculine physical traits, a feminine or masculine voice and will also be left to decide if they’re a ‘witch’ or ‘wizard’ which will determine which dorm they will be placed in and what pronouns they are referred to by.
Undoubtedly this is a positive, providing inclusivity to gamers of all kinds and that should be praised, but this news does follow on from a laundry list of controversies surrounding the Harry Potter IP and the development of Hogwarts Legacy itself. As I’m sure many of you are aware, Harry Potter creator J.K Rowling has made a number of inflammatory and demeaning remarks towards the transgender community that has left a sour taste in the mouths of many a fan of the Wizarding World.
Atop this, it was recently uncovered that the game’s Lead Designer Troy Leavitt has previously uploaded numerous YouTube videos opposing social justice warriors and supporting the Gamergate movement. An argument could be made to say that Rowling’s comments and opinions should not sully the work that developer Avalanche Software has done with Hogwarts Legacy, but with Leavitt’s previous actions also taken into consideration, this project certainly has a stigma surrounding it.
Hogwarts Legacy is set to release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2022.
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