David Haddad, the President of Warner Bros. Interactive, has responded to calls for a boycott of its upcoming game Hogwarts Legacy.
As described in a piece from Axios, the calls to boycott Hogwarts Legacy have resulted from transphobic commentary by Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling. Although WB Games clarified that the author herself is not "directly involved" with the game's development and that the title will incorporate trans-inclusive character creation options, this has not wholly staunched the desire for a boycott of the title. When Haddad was questioned about this, he responded that "We're going to stay very focused on the game that we built and the great job that the Avalanche studio has done," while stressing that "we want everybody that loves this world and loves these stories and loves these characters."
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Despite the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling, the trailers for Hogwarts Legacy have generated much excitement for the game. Taking place in the early 1800s, Hogwarts Legacy will allow players to progress through an action-packed original story while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The game will also contain a vast open-world that includes the magical school, its grounds and other locations from the Harry Potter books and films.
A trailer revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live revealed new information surrounding the player's ability to make choices in the game. In this trailer, the player discusses Dark Magic with another wizard, and they are offered a surprising choice; to either be taught how to use Crucio, a torturing curse, or to have it performed on them. This exchange suggests the presence of other in-game choices that will allow the player to choose to be good or take the path of dark wizardry.
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Aside from Hogwarts Legacy, WB Games is currently working towards the global launch of another Harry Potter-themed title, having teamed up with the publisher NetEase to create a mobile game called Harry Potter: Magic Awakened. According to the game's website, this RPG will allow players to explore Hogwarts, participate in real-time, multiplayer wizard duels using spell cards, play Quidditch and more. While the game has already been released in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, the title will launch globally sometime later this year.
Hogwarts Legacy will be released worldwide in February 2023 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The launch date of the Nintendo Switch version has yet to be announced.
Source: Axios