Sony revealed Hogwarts Legacy this year, an upcoming RPG set in the universe of the Harry Potter books. However, the reveal was met with conflicting emotions due to J.K Rowling’s transphobic opinions that have escalated this year. This saw a section on the game’s FAQ clarify the author’s involvement, making it clear that she has no involvement in the project, but it is based on her IP.
On October 1, Jason Schreier (Thanks, Kotaku) took to Twitter to share a transcript from a video clip he was sent. The video clip was from a company Q&A with Warner Bros. Games president, David Haddad. It seems as if employees had questions they wanted to be addressed in regards to Hogwarts Legacy and the transphobic comments made by Rowling.
Haddad responded saying “Not a lot I can comment on, other than, since we did get so many [questions], I wanted to be responsive the best way I could. The way I think I’d like to do it is, I’d like to echo something you’ve heard from our most senior executive leadership.”
He continued, “While JK Rowling is the creator of Harry Potter, and we are bringing that to life with the power of Portkey, in many places, she’s a private citizen also. And that means she’s entitled to express her personal opinion on social media. I may not agree with her, and I might not agree with their stance on a range of topics, but I can agree that she has the right to hold her opinion.”
Later in the Q&A, Haddad answered a question about diversity/inclusion by adding that WB Games is working with LGBTQ rights orgs and that he spent an hour and a half talking to the director of trans media representation at GLAAD. No mention of Rowling or Harry Potter there
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 30, 2020
Schreier also reveals that later in the Q&A Haddad was asked a question about diversity and inclusion, to which he said that Warner Bros. Games is working with LGBTQ rights organizations. Haddad says that he has spent an hour and a half talking to the director of trans media representation at GLAAD. Schreier says that there was no mention of Rowling or Harry Potter during that answer.
The upcoming Hogwarts Legacy is set in the 1800s and features RPG elements while being set in the Wizarding World. While the lore remains true to J.K Rowling’s creations, there are apparently due to be new areas and characters to explore and is stated that “This is not a new story from J.K. Rowling.”
Hogwarts Legacy is due to launch next year for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X | S.
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