Someone has created a satirical chat-based game that simulates purchasingHogwarts Legacydespite the controversy surrounding it. In countries like the United States,Hogwarts Legacyhas been massively successful, but the game remains highly controversial because ofHarry Pottercreator J.K. Rowling’s actions and comments meant to harm the transgender community.
While there has been an attempt todistanceHogwarts Legacyfrom J.K. Rowling, the comments and actions taken by publisher Warner Bros. Interactive and developer Avalanche Software have not been received well. Many trans people and trans allies have felt as though they had simply been low-effort attempts to appeal to the community while not directly addressing the harm Rowling is attempting to perpetuate as well as her profiting from the royalties generated by the game’s sales.
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When it comes to the individual experience of purchasingHogwarts Legacy, a developer boycotting the game created a satirical piece aptly titledHogwarts Legacy Purchase Simulator. The game is told from the point of view of a potential buyer who receives a message from Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav, urging them to purchase the game to support its developers before someone named Ashley counters him, citing that Rowling directly profits off of the game.
Afterward, the player buys however many copies ofHogwarts Legacyas they please, with Ashley protesting and another person called “That Gamer Friend” chiming in to say they are buying it also because they heard Twitch streamer Asmongold say that “woke snowflakes” were trying to cancel the game. It concludes with J.K. Rowling herself proclaiming that the player is “defending sex-based rights” or accusing them of “silencing women” which depends on how many copies the player buys. For any who want to try the game out, it is no longer active, with its page leading to a 404 error, and it is unclear if it will be available again.
Hogwarts Legacy Purchase Simulatormakes its protest against the game clear with several articles pulled up that are about proposed anti-trans legislation in the US and UK, with one directly citing J.K. Rowling’s open support of some of these measures. Her support of this kind of legislation may not be surprising to many given that, in response to atransgender YouTuber’s belief that supportingHogwarts Legacywas harmful, J.K. Rowling mocked her.
Althoughphysical sales forHogwarts Legacyhave fellin its second week of sales, the game is still at the top of many charts, and since the ports for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch have not been released yet, they will likely remain on the charts for a while. Despite that,Hogwarts Legacy Purchase Simulatoris a title that protests the game uniquely while still making its point clear with what it is trying to say.
Hogwarts Legacyis available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Ports for PS4 and Xbox One will come out on April 4, and a Switch port will be released on July 25.
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