A beloved series of children's novels for many years, the Harry Potter universe has recently become a lighting rod for discussion surrounding transgender equality and inclusivity. Author J.K. Rowling angered many of her fans and LGBTQ+ allies with comments made on Twitter last year that many believe are transphobic. Now nothing related to the book series has been left out of scrutiny, whether it be the recent Fantastic Beasts movies or the upcoming open-world RPG, Hogwarts Legacy.
Hogwarts Legacy is also suffering from another controversy surrounding lead designer, Troy Leavitt. Troy Leavitt's past YouTube videos have come under fire for pro-Gamergate views that targeted prominent women in the gaming industry such as Zoe Quinn, Brianna Wu, and Anita Sarkeesian. Following this news, video game forum ResetEra decided to ban all Hogwarts Legacy media threads used to promote the game in order to refrain from drawing more attention to the situation. However, one bit of positive news might be surfacing from all this controversy, and it has to do with character creation options in Hogwarts Legacy.
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As journalist Jason Schreier reports in a piece for Bloomberg news, Hogwarts Legacy might have character customization options that are designed to be transgender inclusive. When creating a character, players may have the option to "customize their characters' voice, body type, and gender placement for the school dormitories." This information comes directly from developers working on Hogwarts Legacy who requested anonymity because of press communication restrictions.
Players will also be able to select between "witch" or "wizard" options that will ultimately determine which magical school they are placed in and how other Hogwarts characters address them. Schreier says that members of the Hogwarts Legacy development team have been pushing to "make the game as inclusive as possible" and have suggested that a transgender character also be added to the game.
While no official word has come from Harry Potter franchise owner Warner Bros. Interactive as to whether these character creation options will make it into the final version of the game, the possibility sheds a little bit of light onto what has been a dark development period for Hogwarts Legacy.
Regardless of which customization options make it through Hogwarts Legacy's development, character creation remains a crucial and popular element in open-word games. Though open-world RPG Cyberpunk 2077 is no stranger to controversy, it contains some of the most narratively-influenced character customization in video games that fans have praised. Many gamers simply want to play as an avatar that represents them no matter how they identify, and Hogwarts Legacy could take steps to ensure that its version of the magical school of Hogwarts is truly open to anyone.
Hogwarts Legacy is in development for a 2022 release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.