Hogwarts Legacy and other boycott backlashes

Controversial Harry Potter video game is topping sales charts despite the J.K. Rowling controversy

Hogwarts Legacy
The new release is first open-world action game set in the Hogwarts wizarding universe
(Image credit: Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

New Harry Potter video game Hogwarts Legacy is flying off shop shelves despite calls for a boycott of the new release.

After winning global fame as the author of the hit book series, J.K. Rowling has “fallen from beloved to beleaguered” in recent years over her outspoken views on transgender women, said Newsweek. The 2020 unveiling of a Hogwarts Legacy trailer prompted debate about whether Rowling's attachment to the game would “prove to be problematic” – despite her having no direct involvement.

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 Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.