Hogwarts Legacy developers are boycotting their own game

Despite the hype, not everyone is going to be buying Hogwarts Legacy - including some individuals who worked on the game.

Although Hogwarts Legacy only just left early access and released properly today, it’s already a roaring success. Having racked up over 300K players on Steam and smashed viewing records on Twitch, there’s no doubt that it’s popular. However, it’s impossible to ignore the controversy that surrounds the title.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been criticised for making harmful comments about the transgender community, and although she hasn’t been directly involved in the development of the game, she will profit from its sales. Therefore, many have decided to boycott it altogether.

As GGRecon reports, one of the devs who worked on Hogwarts Legacy, Parker Hartzler, took to Twitter to confirm that he won’t be buying the game, and said that “it is the least I can do as an ally”.

“Here's my place in the Hogwarts Legacy credits, the second high budget game I've been credited in,” he wrote, attaching a screenshot of the credits. “I was the realtime technician on shoot floor helping mocap actors see their rigs in the environments. I will not be purchasing the game - it is the least I can do as an ally."

Here's my place in the Hogwarts Legacy credits, the second high budget game I've been credited in. I was the realtime technician on shoot floor helping mocap actors see their rigs in the environments. I will not be purchasing the game - it is the least I can do as an ally pic.twitter.com/IECYTWXqsr

— Parker Hartzler (@ParkerHartzler) February 7, 2023

“Trans people do not deserve to have people like JKR grow and prosper - any ammunition to the wrong side is damage to a society I would otherwise wish to see in the future. One where people are not discriminated against for their gender, sexuality, or any piece of their identity,” he continued. “And as always, I'm expecting a slew of people to jump out of the woodwork with ‘Well *I* don't care!! I'm going to buy the game!!’ - please save yourself the breath. So far most of you I have taken one peek at your account and seen you either follow JKR or you're right wing."

“Also - to people calling me hypocritical for not refusing to work on this game in my own way - please realise you can not speak for me or my financial situation, or the way that mocap companies operate,” he added. “Had I not shown up to work I would have been promptly fired and homeless soon.”

In the replies, another developer, Ana Kova, shared that she’s in the same boat: “I support this message! I also worked on this game as a third party employee, and I'm proud of the work my team did. With that being said, I will not be buying or playing it.”