The Discourse Surrounding ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Is Already Insufferable

The culture war around the newly released Harry Potter game, Hogwarts Legacy, has already boiled Twitter and Twitch into a frenzy, as boycotters and fans clash over the ethics of playing a game about going to wizard school.

The controversy revolves around Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, who has become infamous for her views on transgender people, having gone from a vocal gay rights supporter to obsessively advocating against trans rights, and speaking out against gender recognition reform in Scotland.

Hogwarts Legacy became a fiery beacon for the culture war, with boycotters arguing that the game is symbolically important, and that trans allies should reject any product that enriches and empowers Rowling. Transphobes seem to agree, viewing the game as a symbol of defiance, a way to “trigger the libs.”

Rowling’s fandom used to be associated with progressive values, and was immensely popular with the LGBTQ community; now, hateful bigots are sending trans creators threats and abusive messages using whimsical magic words from Harry Potter.

The proposed boycott, if it was ever intended to cripple sales, failed spectacularly, as Hogwarts Legacy shot to the top of the Steam charts before it was even released. Most people either don’t know, or don’t care about the controversy; they just want to go to Hogwarts and soak in the nostalgia, or enjoy the game with their children.

Seemingly out of desperation, many boycotters have turned to shaming streamers, critics and gamers for playing and promoting the game, sparking accusations of bullying; at one point, a Twitch streamer was driven to tears by the flood of criticism while playing Hogwarts Legacy.

The rhetoric has grown wildly emotional, to the point where simply mentioning the game on social media will spark a tsunami of insufferable commentary, as grown adults debate whether playing a game about going to wizard school makes you a “bad person.”

Choosing to buy, or not to buy, a mass-marketed AAA game is not an act of virtue, or rebellion – it’s not even close.

It’s unclear why Hogwarts Legacy (which Rowling is not creatively involved with) became such a heated topic, while the Fantastic Beasts movies (which were written by Rowling), were largely ignored.

Many commentators have pointed out that unethical products and problematic creatives are everywhere, and almost impossible to avoid. TikTok creator @hazama626 pointed out that this outrage seems selectively enforced, sparking resentment and unnecessary infighting.

Political Twitch streamer Hasan Piker said that he originally intended to stream Hogwarts Legacy, and use the publicity to raise money for trans charities, but ultimately decided against it, stating: “It’s not worth it to get bullied endlessly.”

On Twitter, Piker emphasized that trans people are facing an existential threat, writing:

“Everyday there’s new trans legislation being written to basically eliminate trans people from existence in the us. y’all are talking about a video game that i’m not even playing. recognize that this is about engagement on twitter, a feeling of helplessness and nothing else.”

Others used the same argument to emphasize the importance of a boycott.

Twitch streamer Keffals, who is transgender, condemned the backlash against the game, and suggested she might stream it herself, to raise money for trans charities.

Twitch streamer Jessie Gender, who is also transgender, recommended that trans allies should promote a game made by a trans person, instead of using Hogwarts Legacy for publicity, writing: “Don’t use oppressors tools to fight the oppressor.”

Ironically, the game itself is generally viewed as mediocre, seemingly a dull open-world game boosted by a popular IP, memorably described as “Dark Souls for Mormons.”

The attempt to frame a popular video game into a test of virtue has been a disaster; the heated discourse seems to have only deepened divisions inside the queer community, a perfect example of how genuine political anxieties are absorbed into monumentally useless culture war.

After all, there is no real-world equivalent to Harry Potter’s Sorting Hat; products do not reflect the morality of the consumer, whether it’s Hogwarts Legacy, or “woke M&Ms.”