Hogwarts Legacy, the new controversial Harry Potter gaming IP, introduces players to Sirona Ryan, the franchise’s first transgender character, a witch, and the owner of the Three Broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade village. Players meet Sirona while on a mission and inquire about a goblin named Lodgok, to which she responds that she hadn’t seen him in a while, but he recognized her instantly, as opposed to her classmates who took longer to realize that she was a witch, not a wizard. The game arrives amid ongoing backlash surrounding J.K. Rowling’s transphobic comments. Per the developers at Avalanche Software and publishers at Warner Bros. Games, Rowling was not involved in the creation of the game but stands to earn royalties from its sales. As such, the new game marks the latest in the heated debate surrounding the ethical consumption of Hogwarts Legacy, and Harry Potter in general, given Rowling’s repeated anti-trans remarks and stark antisemitism within her series.
Starting in June 2020, Rowling has vehemently expressed TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) views on Twitter that villainize trans people, spread false information, and reinforce dehumanizing tropes and biases, as seen through her book Troubled Blood, which features a serial killer who dresses as a woman. She’s also written an essay depicting distorted views on gender identity and the process of transitioning and liked a tweet by anti-trans YouTuber Magdalen Berns that disparages trans women as just “men in dresses,” devaluing the struggles of trans women. Since then, HP stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign have denounced Rowling’s statements and voiced their support of trans people.
Despite the game’s positive reviews and record-breaking Twitch streaming views for the most-watched single-played game —, it stands at the No.1 pre-sale slot on Steam — many are choosing to boycott the new IP, including prominent gaming streamers and YouTubers, who advocate that supporting the game while Rowling continues to target trans people’s rights is harmful and consciously perpetuates bigotry, as opposed to previously consumed HP media and products. Additionally, popular game reviews sites such as Polygon or Gamespot have either yet to review Hogwarts Legacy or published pieces in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Since Rowling, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Entertainment, holds the licensing rights to Harry Potter and the Wizarding World, she stands to profit from the game’s sales; therefore, some argue that purchasing the game contributes to her wealth, thus supporting her transphobic stances. As expected, the developers’ response regarding the matter is intentionally vague, as they emphasize the challenge of creating a new, independent story that appeals to the franchise’s diverse audience, essentially neither condemning nor outright supporting Rowling (though, the official Hogwarts Legacy FAQ page does note the author as the foundation for Wizarding World projects and collaboration with her team, implying that she has some distant degree of control). Regardless of their statements, both Warner Bros. and Avalanche Software still benefit from the success of the game and have their agency circumscribed by Rowling’s ownership of HP cannon.
Nevertheless, the significance of the first trans character in the series cannot be understated. According to a 2021 Geena Davis Institute report examining LGBTQ+ characters in video games, only .03% were identifiable as queer, and non-binary and trans characters were primarily absent on Twitch streams. Recently, games such as TLOU Part 2, Apex Legends, and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate feature strong, compelling, integral trans characters that are changing the narrative of trans representation in video games. In Hogwarts Legacy’s case, the inclusion of Sirona bars the question of whether the progress is genuine or an attempt to pander to queer audiences and dissuade the reprisal. Sirona herself has attracted criticism as some claim her name sounds masculine given the prefix “Sir” and her common male last name “Ryan”, yet others argue Sirona refers to a Celtic goddess.
Additionally, as with the overtly antisemitic caricature of goblins as Gringotts bankers in the films, Hogwarts Legacy, instead of recontextualizing goblins, centers them as its primary antagonist and forces players to shoot them down in droves to stop a goblin rebellion…(why is it that the notion of an oppressed population attempting to revolt against the dominant group is demonized??)
Can one separate art from the artist, ignorant nostalgia from glaring complicity?
I honestly do not know, but it’s evident that media projects like this will continue to garner controversy in the future. HP has been a cornerstone of my childhood and something I am still attached to from a nostalgic point of view. It pains me that the first immersive, open-world HP game — something I would love given other circumstances — stems from someone so depraved and delusional, who deliberately seeks to hurt an already marginalized group. Personally, as of now, I will not be purchasing this game and urge others to reflect on the implications of their actions. Whether you purchase the game or not, what’s undeniable is that human rights should be at the forefront of ethical media consumption, and for some, Hogwarts Legacy directly violates those fundamental values.