Conversely, if no one buys Hogwarts Legacy, there won’t be much of a conversation around it, and Rowling won’t have the opportunity to capitalize off of the game’s success. The more attention people pay to Harry Potter, the bigger Rowling’s platform, and the more influential she is. That’s time spent idolizing Harry Potter and, by extension, Rowling. Suppose the game becomes massively popular and dominates the social media conversation for a month or so before the fervor dies down. If the game sells well, it could get expansions, spin-offs or sequels, which would mean more money and success for Rowling.Įven assuming that Rowling didn’t make a penny off of Hogwarts Legacy, though, the game is still a reflection of the work she created. It’s not impossible that she’ll receive residuals based on game sales. While we don’t know the exact details of Harry Potter’s licensing agreement with Warner Brothers, we can reason that Rowling made some money when the company greenlit Hogwarts Legacy. The primary argument against buying Hogwarts Legacy is also simple: The game is based on Rowling’s work and made with her blessing, so supporting it also supports her, however indirectly. The argument for boycotting Hogwarts Legacy In short, not buying a game may punish the developers more than it punishes Rowling, and she’s not going to be affected by your decision, one way or another. She’s going to be a powerful, influential, wealthy author whether or not you buy the game, and she’s unlikely to learn anything from a boycott, even if it picks up incredible steam - which video game boycotts rarely do.
Even if Hogwarts Legacy absolutely tanks, Rowling will almost certainly still make money off of it, as it costs money to use the Harry Potter license in the first place. Rowling has had plenty of opportunities to retract her comments and become more sympathetic to the transgender community.
Even if the employees don't earn sales-related bonuses, a studio with a game that doesn't sell is often a studio that disbands. If you boycott Hogwarts Legacy, you could be hurting them an awful lot more than you’ll be hurting Rowling. Their bread and butter is creating video games. The employees who work at these studios don’t have hundreds of millions of dollars to their names, as Rowling does.
Portkey Games, as the name suggests, is a Warner Brothers-owned publisher focusing exclusively on Harry Potter games.Īvalanche Software has hundreds of employees Portkey’s size is not clear, but it’s probably not small, considering it’s also published the popular Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on Android and iOS. Avalanche Software is the game developer behind titles like Disney Infinity, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas and Tak and the Power of Juju. The development and publishing teams at Avalanche Software and Portkey Games are. While the game would not exist without Rowling, she’s not the driving force behind it. Tolkien with Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. In other words, while Hogwarts Legacy uses Harry Potter as a foundational text, Rowling had no more to do with the game’s development than did J.R.R. Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game, however, her extraordinary body of writing is the foundation of all projects in the Wizarding World. The primary argument for buying Hogwarts Legacy is simple: Rowling herself had nothing to do with the game. On the other side is the “studio” argument: A huge development team, which doesn’t include Rowling, created the game, and a boycott would hurt them much more than it would hurt the author. On one side is the “creator” argument: Rowling will benefit financially from the game, so it’s immoral to buy it. The bottom line is that Harry Potter fans now have a dilemma on their hands: Should they buy the game or not? The social media battle lines have already formed.
Xbox Series X release date, price, pre-orders, specs and games.PS5 release date, price, specs, controller and pre-orders.Over the past few years, Rowling has occasionally espoused other transphobic ideas, particularly in her books. It would take too long to reiterate the whole story, but Glamour has an excellent breakdown on what Rowling said, how her peers responded, and why the issue has persisted for three months and counting. Rowling has spent the last few months making insensitive remarks about transgender women, then doubling down on those comments. For those who haven’t followed the controversy, Harry Potter author J.K.