The gameplay presentation of Hogwarts: Legacy not only sparked absolute hype on Twitter, but also a shitstorms. These were directed at the author of the Harry Potter books and founder of the Wizarding World, J.K. Rowling.
So many had been eagerly waiting when Sony finally showed more of Hogwarts: Legacy on March 17th. Different locations, gameplay and characters were shown. It felt like everyone was just waiting for this preview. With the world of Harry Potter, Hogwarts and the associated Wizarding World most of us have grown up with trigger emotions in us. However, a topic once again bubbled up on Twitter which hangs over the franchise like a dark cloud. It's about the sensitive tweets and statements that J.K Rowling made in 2020 on the topics of gender identity and biological sex, and since then, she has also repeatedly tweeted about these topics.
Furthermore, in the past, the media reported about the suspicion that the goblins who work in the wizard bank Gringotts in the Harry Potter books were created after an anti-Semitic model. The house has been mightily tilted ever since. The actors distanced themselves from her, and even in the Sky special Return to Hogwarts, only archival footage of her was seen.
The Conflict For Fans
After the new teaser was released, it didn't take long for the Twitter community to start a shitstorm against J.K Rowling. Some are calling for a boycott of Hogwarts: Legacy. Unfortunately, the Harry Potter author can't be completely separated from the game, even if she wasn't involved in the creative process. The world around the Hogwarts School of Magic comes from her pen. That leaves a bad taste in the mouth of many fans, because they don't want her to profit from it.
Boycott Hogwarts Legacy and Secrets of Dumbledore. If we really want to show J k Rowling she is not welcome here, we take away her power. #SecretsOfDumbledore #JKDoesntSpeakForMe
— Annabeano (@AnnaOCo83150811) March 19, 2022
Many users also ask themselves the question: “Where is the limit?”. This is a question you have to ask yourself all too often when trying to separate the creation from the author. On the one hand, you love or loved to immerse yourself in the world of Harry Potter, but on the other hand, you also want to be the best version of yourself and not support statements and actions of characters. Another conflict is that there is not only one person involved in the process of creating a movie or Hogwarts: Legacy. J.K Rowling is a small part of a chain of people who were involved in some way. Boycotting the game also affects the development studio that put years of work into it.
Many users see it differently and don't want to let the shitstorm spoil their joy of finally becoming a student at Hogwarts, even if only virtually. Also, in regard to the upcoming release of Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Secrets, you have to ask yourself the question of where and whether you draw the line yourself and whether you can separate work and author in whatever area.I know it's cliche, but I can't wait to have a Good Gryffindor and Evil Slytherin playthrough in #HogwartsLegacy. It's going to be hard not to use the unforgivable curses in my first playthrough though pic.twitter.com/8ddxFXItpl
— From The Attic (@AtticMichael) March 22, 2022
