Hogwarts Legacy, a game currently surrounded by controversy, is described as an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books, and it seems to be exactly that: an interesting game for people of almost all ages to enjoy. So, where are all the issues and debates coming from?

Well, the intense scrutiny Hogwarts Legacy has been receiving is due to the author of the book series, J.K. Rowling, and the audience’s strong dislike for her seems to be the main reason for the hate and name-calling. J.K. Rowling has openly expressed her problematic opinions of transgender and Jewish people on her Twitter account. These views have led to many people boycotting the game to show their disdain for her. Although it has been debated whether J.K. Rowling is actually involved in this game or getting any royalties from it, that has not stopped the immense amount of hate from people in the LGBTQ+ community and Harry Potter fans alike. The hate from viewers has been so strong that it has made many gamers apologize for streaming it, saying they might play the game for their audience, or simply watching an ad for it in a live stream. Even though there has been much hate online projected at the game, it has still broken many records in the first few days upon its release. Hogwarts Legacy has already earned hundreds of millions of dollars and received a vast amount of positive game-related reviews. It appears that the boycott has only given the game even more publicity and support from people who want to play it simply because it has been chastised by all the people they don’t like: LGBTQ+, Jewish, and angry people on Twitter. 

Twitter definitely is the reason the hate has gotten so intense, even though the discussion was started on Reddit. Twitter users have been harassing others for playing the game even if they claim they didn’t know about the controversies, which definitely helps us see that these users have a lot of hate that they can’t really explain or support with any substantial evidence. Streamers have been very vocal about the names they’ve been called and how they believe it is out of line but the fans have not halted their criticisms at all. Although it is understandable to not want people to play a game that supports a horrible person, it is virtually impossible to stop anyone from doing anything. Humans especially don’t like to be told not to do things which makes the increased usage of the game laughable; people who weren’t excited about the game or didn’t know about its existence before still played it just to piss people off. Some even threatened to “buy it twice” just to get on their nerves.  

Hogwarts Legacy has been able to overcome most of the hate with its solid and positive reviews, but that has not stopped users on TikTok and Twitter from making jokes. Hogwarts Legacy developers have added a transgender character to try and combat the angry crowd that has gathered on social media but this act of “inclusion” has been met with criticism due to how forceful the addition feels. There is no arguing that the new character was an attempt to soothe the crowd, but it has been pretty ineffective. 

All in all, Hogwarts Legacy was very problematic, yet prosperous upon release which once again proves that any publicity is good publicity. Harry Potter fans — and J.K Rowling haters — managed to accomplish the exact opposite of what they were hoping for and can ultimately be blamed for the success of the game.