Alan Tew, the director for Hogwarts Legacy, has commented on the game’s ever-looming controversy with JK Rowling over her comments regarding the transgender community. In an interview, he responds to this proverbial elephant in the room by describing her views as “challenges” that the developer has had to overcome.
Hogwarts Legacy director says that the game is “for everyone”
Taking a neutral approach, Tew gave a lengthy reply in response to concerns some fans have about purchasing a game that JK Rowling would ultimately profit from. He does this by not mentioning her name at all in an interview with IGN:
I think for us there are challenges in every game we’ve worked on. This game has been no different. When we bumped into those challenges, we went back and refocused on the stuff that we really care about. We know our fans fell in love with the Wizarding World, and we believe they fell in love with it for the right reasons.
He continues by acknowledging that the Harry Potter universe has “a diverse audience.” When pressed a second time about whether any developers at Avalanche Software had second thoughts on working on the game after Rowling’s comments were widely publicized, he said that “the team made Hogwarts Legacy for everyone.”
The official FAQ for the game states that JK Rowling was not involved in the creation of the game, but says that Avalanche Software “collaborated closely with her team” to ensure that the game’s world made sense.
In December 2022, Rowling responded to comments made by writer and filmmaker Jessie Earl who said that supporting Hogwarts Legacy would be “harmful.” The author’s comments against the transgender community has caused actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint to denounce them, with Radcliffe stating that “transgender women are women” in an open letter.
