Some Avalanche employees decided to look for new jobs, and others pushed for a formal acknowledgment of the controversy.
(Bloomberg) — J.K. Rowling wasn’t involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, but her anti-trans comments shook many who did.
Read More: ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Leaves Some Gamers Conflicted Over Rowling’s Trans Views
Rowling’s comments about transgender people in the summer of 2020 left some developers questioning whether they wanted to work on the game. Some Avalanche employees decided to look for new jobs, and others pushed for a formal acknowledgment of the controversy. Instead, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment President David Haddad told an all-hands meeting that Rowling was “entitled to express her personal opinion.”
Eventually, Avalanche decided to add a transgender character, four people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg. One of the game’s non-playable characters, a bartender named Sirona Ryan, is now a trans woman. Additionally, the character creator allows gamers to play as non-traditional genders by mixing and matching voices, body types and choice of dormitory.
“We wanted to make a game that felt welcoming and inviting to everyone,” said Troy Leavitt, formerly a designer and producer on Hogwarts Legacy told Bloomberg. “It was a way to extend the invitation a little wider so that more fans could see themselves represented in the Wizarding World.”
Rowling’s creative agency, the Blair Partnership, did work with the developers on creative decisions throughout the project, though she wasn’t involved personally.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson said “offering players choices in the way they play the game is an element that we have worked on since the start of development. The Character Creator is just one example of that and of course, the large, diverse cast of characters present throughout the game have also had a huge amount of thought from Avalanche, Warner Bros. Games, The Blair Partnership, as well as counsel from outside D&I experts.”
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