Hogwarts Legacy game is released as online debate and boycott rages on

One of the game’s actors recently distanced himself from JK Rowling

Hogwarts Legacy, the new video game adaptation of JK Rowling’s wizarding franchise, has arrived amid a ferocious online debate.

In the game, players attend an 1800s version of Hogwarts, the school made famous in the Harry Potter books and films.

While many Harry Potter fans are thrilled with the prospect of the new game, which is out now, many others have called for a boycott due to Rowling’s shocking comments on transgender issues.

Rowling did not have any involvement in the concept or writing of the game, but she will receive royalties from its sales.

As a result of the controversy around the release, the moderators of ResetEra – one of the largest and most established games forums – have banned all mention of it from their site.

A fundraiser asking people to donate to a trans charity instead of buying the game has raised thousands of pounds, and an actor who voices one of the characters in the game, Heartstopper’s Sebastian Croft, issued a statement distancing himself from Rowling’s comments.

“I was cast in this project over three years ago, back when all Harry Potter was to me, was the magical world I grew up with. This was long before I was aware of JK Rowling’s views,” he said, in a series of tweets. “I’m really sorry to anyone hurt by this announcement. There is no LGB without the T.”

One person who is boycotting the game tweeted: “Please do not buy/play/stream the Harry Potter game. Stand with the communities begging you to put them and their lives first.”

‘Hogwarts Legacy’ (Warner Bros)

There have also been claims that a goblin artefact in the game is antisemitic. This follows previous claims that the Gringotts goblins in Harry Potter were depicted as Jewish caricatures in the films.

Others have argued that playing the game doesn’t mean that players’ views align with those of Rowling.

One transgender fan told Sky News their relationship with the franchise was “complicated, adding: “As a fandom, we have been looking forward to this game before it was even announced. “I found a lot of solace in the series and it’s something I can’t shake. It’s part of who I am.”

Calls for a boycott have not prevented Hogwarts Legacy from breaking records for the number of people watching gamers play preview copies on Twitch. It has been reported that as many as 1.3 million people were watching content related to the game on the platform.