The CEO of Warner Bros. Interactive, David Haddad spoke recently about the upcoming release of the next game around the license of the most famous wizard: Harry Potter. He wants to be reassuring about the possibilities offered by Hogwarts Legacy to players concerned about conflict of interest with writer JK Rowling.
Hogwarts Legacy : an “independent” game?
Unless you’re really not concerned with the news aroundHarry Potter, there is a good chance that you are aware of the controversies raised by the words of the novelist JK Rowling. judged transphobe after several of his tweets, many fans of the license were torn in their love for the work Harry Potter and condemnation of his words. The writer has also received the support of Vladimir Putinwho made it the effigy of the fight against “Cancel Culture”. Many fans of the license would like the author to be thanked for her work but excluded from any future productionsince according to them, it seems inconceivable to continue to support the work of a person they consider to be openly transphobic.
It is in this tumultuous context that must emerge the next game Harry Potter : Hogwarts Legacy’s (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy). A game that seems very promising on paper and according to the first opinions but which suffers from the controversy around JK Rowling. On social networks, more and more Harry Potter players and fans are calling for a boycott of the game so as not to financially support the author -which receives royalties for each use of the license-. To reassure the fans, David Haddad, general manager of Warner Bros producing the game spoke for the media Axios :
[…] We would like to remind you that JK Rowling is not directly involved in the development of the game. We even add that it will be possible [dans Hogwarts Legacy] to use inclusive options, allowing the creation of trans characters. We’re going to stay very focused on the game we’ve built and the great work of studio Avalanche. We want everyone who loves the Harry Potter universe to love these stories and characters.
Hogwarts Legacy : boycott or finance?
Thereby, the CEO of Warner Bros wants to be reassuring about Harry Potter : Hogwarts Legacy’s. Rather than speaking openly about the controversy, he tries to focus the discussion on what the game will offer, like inclusive character creation options wanted and supported by studio Avalanche. Their own way of proving their detachment from the words of JK Rowling. He also assures thatshe did not participate in the process of creating the game. But he, like the fans, knows very well that it is impossible to completely exclude JK Rowling from the project, at least financially since she will receive a share of the income from each game in the form of royalties. Harry Potter and DC are two of Warner’s major licensesand it is unthinkable for the company to do without it when it is currently in the midst of a financial crisis.
This call for a boycott is extremely wrong, because Warner is in full acquisition by Discovery. To make matters worse, DC films are also compromised after the setbacks of Ezra Miller (The Flash) but also Amber Heardplaying Mera in Aquaman, on trial for more than a year against her former husband Johnny Depp, accused of domestic violence, and having himself been ousted from Fantastic Beasts where he played Grindelwald. All this forms a beautiful cocktail of problems that Warner would have done very well without. For their part, fans ofHarry Potter also invite those who would still like to obtain Hogwarts Legacy at consider pirating so you don’t buy the game.
