J.K. Rowling "not involved" in the creation of the new Hogwarts Legacy Harry Potter game
The transphobic creator of the Harry Potter series, whose works inspire the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy, will not have a direct role in the creation of the game.
The developers of Hogwarts Legacy are trying to distance themselves from J.K. Rowling, creator of the world and characters the upcoming action RPG is based on.
In an FAQ that went live following Hogwarts Legacy's unveiling at the PS5 Showcase, publisher Warner Bros. directly addressed the point, saying that the author will not be "directly involved in the creation of the game."
"J.K. Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game, however, her extraordinary body of writing is the foundation of all projects in the Wizarding World. This is not a new story from J.K. Rowling," it reads.
Warner Bros., however, did not say whether Rowling will receive any royalties from the sales of the game.
J.K. Rowling recently made a number of transphobic statements on Twitter, only to make matters worse by explaining her views in a follow-up blog post. Among other things, she seemingly came out in support of TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) activists, and suggested that "peer influence" was a factor in some people's decision to change sex.
Recent reports suggested that the team at developer Avalanche expressed concerns about their work being tied to Rowling. This could have prompted a change in marketing, which is seemingly trying to distance itself from Rowling.
Hogwarts Legacy takes place in 1800's Hogwarts, meaning it is set well before the events of mainline Harry Potter series, and its Fantastic Beasts prequel. It's coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2021.