Transgender characters will be welcome at Hogwarts in the latest Harry Potter video game.
Hogwarts Legacy, the new Harry Potter role-playing game being published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will allow for the creation of transgender characters, Bloomberg reports.
The game will let players create a character "that has a masculine or feminine voice no matter what their body looks like," according to the report. Players reportedly then select a "witch" or "wizard" option to determine dorm placement at Hogwarts and how other characters address them.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While Bloomberg notes other video games have offered similar customization, the news that this one will is particularly significant in light of the controversy sparked by a series of anti-trans statements made by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. In one instance, Rowling on Twitter shared an article referencing "people who menstruate" and commented, "I'm sure there used to be a word for those people."
Numerous Harry Potter stars have pushed back on Rowling's comments, with Daniel Radcliffe last year saying "transgender women are women" in a post directed at those whose love of the series has now been "tarnished or diminished" by what the author said.
After breaking the story about Hogwarts Legacy, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said on Twitter that those who leaked this news did so "because development of the game started long before Rowling's anti-trans crusade, and because they're sad and frustrated." According to the report, there was initially some resistance on the part of management to this push for greater inclusivity in the game, but the customization options are currently expected to be included when the Hogwarts Legacy launches in 2022.
-
Washington grapples with ICE’s growing footprint — and futureTALKING POINTS The deadly provocations of federal officers in Minnesota have put ICE back in the national spotlight
-
‘One day fentanyl will come back — and there will be little anyone can do’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
15 years after Fukushima, is Japan right to restart its reactors?Today’s Big Question Balancing safety fears against energy needs
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
